Famiglia Drabbles
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Chaos abounds in this set of drabbles. I'll try to post most of my new KHR stories here until they make the requirement I set to become a full story !
1. Flames of a Night Sky Chapter One

He couldn't stop crying, but for the first time in a long time there was an adult there to comfort him and actually mean it.

His mama had fallen sick, and at first it had seemed like nothing. But as the weeks turned to months, she soon had to be hospitalized. It was to the point she had to call in an old friend of hers from another town to help.

Tsuna found himself staying with his mother's friend Momoka and her husband Shiro until his mama got better, because she didn't really have many friends in Namimori who could handle another child. Especially not a Dame like him.

And now she was gone. He would never see his Mama again.

Shiro held the distraught boy, discreetly scanning the crowd for a face that should have _been there_. He knew Nana had sent word to her husband she was in the hospital, but not once had Iemitsu come to take his son so his wife could have focused on recovering.

And now he didn't even show up for the funeral.

Momoka looked furious but held her tongue.

Nana had been thrown out of her family years ago, so there was little chance they would take the child in. And the contact information Iemitsu gave his wife was either outdated or false...the number alone was disconnected and every letter he sent to the address was "return to sender".

Tsuna was all alone, and there was no way a small child like him would be able to handle living in that house by himself. He had enough difficulty with the local bullies that had started targeting him when he was five.

All Shiro knew was that Iemitsu had done...something...to his son without his wife's consent, much less bothering to ask how she felt. He simply did it without even consulting her or explaining what was going on. And almost immediately after, Tsuna's personality went from happy and cheerful to absolutely skittish.

The only reason she hadn't divorced him for it on the spot was because whatever he did to _her_ son hadn't been intimate in nature.

Tsuna cried until he was all out of tears to shed, but that was only because he hadn't eaten or drank anything the moment he realized his mother was gone. He at least had the minor comfort of being able to say goodbye and knowing she heard him.

Shiro shared a look with his wife. There was no way in good conscience they could leave this poor child alone, and Nanoha had grown very lonely while he was recovering from his own battles. Having a new little brother would make her happy, especially since she could finally be the "big" sister.

Once the service was over, Shiro noted with disgust no one even thought to try and approach Tsuna to offer comfort. It was like the entire town thought he was "no good" and his mother deserved to die before her time.

Something about Namimori was off.

He bent down to Tsuna's level. The boy was so sad, but he still had some hope in his heart.

"Tsuna, how would you like to live with me and Momoka? I know you loved your mother very much, but she would never want you to be sad forever and I'm sure she'd be happy if you came to live with us. I know Nanoha has always wanted a little brother or sister to play with," said Shiro gently.

"But I'm Dame!" he said, crying.

Shiro hugged the child, letting him get it out.

"I don't know who started that horrible name, but you are _not_ a no-good. Would you like to come live with us?" he asked gently.

Tsuna nodded miserably. He missed his mama, but the Takamachi were really nice and Nanoha never made fun of him for having so much trouble with his schoolwork.

He looked around, and became even more depressed.

"Papa never came."

"I know little one. And if Iemitsu ever shows himself around town again he's going to regret that very much," promised Shiro. "We won't let him take you away when he didn't even bother to show up for your Mama."

"You promise? Papa wasn't very nice to Mama and he took the pretty fire away," sniffed Tsuna.

Shiro blinked, before inwardly cursing Iemitsu even more.

If that fool dared to show up to find his son, Shiro was going to kill him. No questions asked. There was only one explanation that fit why Tsuna's behavior changed that involved pretty fire, and it involve Flames.

Only a complete idiot who didn't care a damn about the consequences of his actions would be stupid enough to seal a child! Especially one so young!

Tsuna was sad for months, but Nanoha was a force of nature. She wouldn't let him wallow in the fact he had been orphaned (considering Iemitsu's attitude towards his family, he might as well be an orphan) and permanently relocated to Uminari. She was a very protective big sister who didn't tolerate anyone daring to call Tsuna anything that came close to "Dame" or it's variants. The last time a bullied tried, they got their ass handed to them and their parents had a stern talking to by Momoka and Shiro.

She also explained things in a more patient and gentle manner than his teachers ever did. Tsuna had been homeshooled until he was five, so he was behind the other children since Nana didn't really teach him anything.

Children were quick to pick out the weak and slow of the pack, and so they had tormented the poor child relentlessly and gave him the awful nickname of Dame Tsuna. Now though, they were too terrified of his big sister to bother him.

Gradually, Tsuna began to smile again.

And the day he was brave enough to call Momoka and Shiro "Kaa-san" and "Tou-san", their small family was finally complete. Momoka had squealed extra loud and hugged the stuffing out of her youngest son, glad he was finally healing from the loss of Nana.

Iemitsu's Hyper Intuition had been going off ever since he stepped foot in Japan. He had finally bothered to take time out of his schedule to visit Nana and Tsuna, and found it odd that the post card he sent was "return to sender". Like there was no one to accept the letter.

Because of his bad feeling, he dragged Oregano with him just in case.

What he found in the house made him stop in his tracks in shock.

The door was locked and there was a thick coat of dust over everything. And all the furniture clearly had covers over them. He went to his son's room, to see if Tsuna was there, only to find it empty of any personal effects. His wife's room had been neatly packed up along with her photos.

The fridge was bare, the water and power turned off, and it was clear that the house had been empty of anyone living in it for some time.

It wasn't until he went to visit someone he knew his wife ordered from frequently because they sold tea that Tsuna really liked that he got an idea of something bad had happened.

"Finally dared to show your sorry ass in town again, did you?" said Tsuyoshi glaring at him.

"Where is Nana and Tsuna?" he demanded, glaring right back.

"What do you care? You didn't show up for the funeral and we tried multiple times to contact you."

Iemitsu's heart stopped.

"Funeral?"

Tsuyoshi spat in his general direction.

"Your wife is gone and so is your son."

Denial clawed in his heart. His wife and son were dead? How? When?

Tsuyoshi looked at Iemitsu's departure with disgust and fury. The man dared to show his face now, after all this time? He took out his phone and called a familiar number. He worried about little Tsuna, so he checked in often. Besides, Shiro could at least commiserate some of the headaches dealing with running a restaurant, and he had offered to teach Takeshi the basics of handling a sword so that he might one-day inherit the family style.

He wouldn't learn anything of Shiro's style, but he could at least learn enough not to get himself killed.

 _With Iemitsu..._

His heart was ripped out of his chest from shock and fear. Then Oregano returned with news that at least gave him hope.

"Tsuna is alive. Nana died of late stage ovarian cancer."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god...he still had a son.

"Where is he?"

"I'm afraid getting the records are impossible. Whoever took him in made it clear you were declared 'dead' for all intents and purposes and had the files permanently sealed. I was only able to find a number that leads to Uminari," said Oregano bluntly. She glared at him. "Maybe if you hadn't dismissed letters from an unknown sender in Japan you might have made it in time for your wife's funeral."

She _knew_ Iemitsu had seen the letters, but because he didn't recognize the name or address he had them destroyed without opening and reading them.

Well now his stupidity and carelessness had come home to roost in the worst way. And he couldn't send CEDEF into tracking his son, because it was owned by a family in the area who didn't tolerate yakuza, much less Mafia.

Oh, a few yakuza sent their children because the school system was very good, but the was no organized crime allowed.

Any action into that area would be a massive headache and would involve a lot of cover up.

His best bet would be to send Lal in to infiltrate, or if he was really lucky, Reborn.

Only if hell froze over would he _dare_ ask Mammon for help.

Hell froze over. Whoever took in Tsunayoshi Sawada apparently knew Iemitsu would eventually bother to look and had hidden their tracks very well. They also apparently knew of the Arcobelano, or perhaps Reborn stood out too much.

Lal certainly didn't have the patience for looking.

Having to approach Mammon of the Varia was like pulling teeth with pain amplifying drugs in his system and having it go on for hours. Not only did the damn Mist officer gouge the hell out of him, but since they were currently paired with the psychotic brat he had to deal with paying Belphegor as well!

Worse, Xanxus had found out what he was doing there and if he read that look right the man had become openly interested for whatever reason.

So now Mammon had been let loose to find out who had his son.

God he hated the Varia and he couldn't stand Xanxus.

 _With the Varia_...

Finding Tsuna was tragically easy. Iemitsu was just an idiot and it had taken a single lead from the restaurant his wife had frequented to find a number that lead straight to the boy.

However Xanxus, in a fit of boredom decided to go see the brat himself to find out the unedited reason why Iemitsu never realized his wife was dying or that his son had been taken in by someone else. For someone who valued Family over his own pride, that sort of stupidity was something that royally pissed him off to no end.

As if he didn't have enough reasons to hate the idiot.

He found the brat helping out with a minor task in a bakery that was positioned in a good spot. He seemed perfectly happy with a girl roughly his own age in twin-tails.

Who looked right at him and knew he wasn't supposed to be there.

Xanxus could only approve of Shiro and his immediate response. He didn't let the kids out of sight, but he also didn't turn his back on the Varia leader.

"I take it he finally decided to show up?" he asked, not looking pleased at all.

"He's a fu..." started Xanxus, before the man's wife hit him with a ladle.

"There are children present. If you must swear do it in languages they won't immediately recognize," she scolded him.

He blinked, before a smirk appeared on his face.

"Yes ma'am."

"Shishishi... the boss got told off," said Belphegor in passable Japanese.

The woman looked at the "prince" and did something that got her in the boy's good books, along with Mammon.

She promptly had them sit down at a table and treated both like they had brains of their own. She then sat down a strawberry cake cut into appropriate slices and plastic forks to eat them with, which drew the two brats behind the counter out. It didn't take long for them to completely ignore the adults in favor of making possible friends.

Not that Mammon was a child, but even he knew the fake baby liked strawberries.

Something seemed to ease in the two 'civilians', likely because Mammon had used him as a way to get around town faster instead of the Prince brat.

"If Iemitsu shows his face in town or tries to take Tsuna from us, I will not hesitate to kill him. Mafiaso or not," said Shiro flatly.

Xanxus eyed the man, before an evil grin came on his face. The man before him was Quality. Retired Quality, but still Quality.

"Mind if I watch? The fact he didn't even bother to open up a letter telling him his wife was dying only cemented the fact he's Stupid. And pissing him off by making sure he can't screw up his son would just make my day."

"The bastard had someone put a Flame seal on him when he was five," Shiro informed him, gauging Xanxus' reaction. Sensing the spike of barely contained anger, he knew he had an ally against Iemitsu.

"How old?"

"Tsuna clearly remembers an old man coming with Iemitsu shortly before his mother started coughing, and she went into to the hospital when he was about five years and three months."

It was official, Iemitsu could go screw himself. No child deserved to have one of those seals on them, especially so young! What the hell was he thinking?!

"Shishishi...the prince wants another slice."

"Well you're going to have to share," scolded the red head with a firm voice. He went to pick up another, only to have his hand slapped by the girl.

"Mu. Behave Belphegor or I'll tell the cooks not to make your favorites for a month."

Belphegor pouted...but there was a clear respect for the little girl who didn't even bat an eye when he pulled out on of his knives.

"No knives at the table unless they're plastic! It's hard enough cleaning blood from the training floor," scolded Momoka. The boy wasn't her son but she wasn't going to let him play with sharp objects when he was supposed to behave in her restaurant. "If you use that for anything other than cutting the cake you'll be put in time out, and I mean it."

The Prince brat pouted even more, but put it away.

"Mu. Do you mind if I have the recipe for this cake? It's so hard to find someone who gets the ratio of strawberries right," asked Mammon politely.

Momoka beamed at the Mist.

"Of course, since you asked so nicely."

"Shishishi..."

Tsuna, who had finished his two allotted slices, walked up to Xanxus with more curiosity than fear.

"Who are you mister?" he asked. It was like looking at a skittish kitten, one who was only now starting to learn how to roar.

Shiro picked the boy up with ease.

"This is someone who unfortunately knows Iemitsu, but doesn't like him much either."

Tsuna flinched at the name. Oh yeah, they were so not telling that ass where his son was. Not if his name caused _that_ reaction.

"Relax kid. I'm not about to tell that idiot where you are if he couldn't even follow the easiest lead to find you."

How the hell did that idiot not think to track the phone records of that sushi chef Belphegor had befriended? It had taken all of ten minutes for Mammon to find the records through the phone company and locate the kid.

Which really brought into question how much else that moron missed doing his actual job.

"What's your name?" he asked, cautiously.

The teen grinned, it was normally quite terrifying. But this kid clearly didn't have that sort of reaction.

"My name is Xanxus. You've already met Belphegor and Mammon."

Tsuna, when he was put down, bowed politely and said "My name is Tsuna! Takamachi Tsuna! It's nice to meet you!"

Dear god, were those flowers and sparkles real or imagined? This kid was entirely too innocent!

But he did have a _slight_ soft spot for kids. Xanxus patted him on the head.

"Why don't you go play with Bel and Mammon while we talk."

Tsuna dashed over to where the others were. The girl had balls of steel and if he didn't know any better he would swear the prince brat was growing a crush on her.

Xanxus actually rather liked Shiro Takamachi. He was pragmatic but not Stupid. If not for his injuries he could have been a great Varia member.

And unlike Iemitsu, Xanxus took family seriously. No way was he letting this poor kid who reminded him way too much of his own situation (with a few minor details, but almost the same) suffer from this much Stupidity.

The Vongola should have been alerted to the fact Nana was sick and taken steps to insure that the brat was alright. Not rely on the kindness of mere civilians to do that job. It reflected badly on their ability to take care of their own!


	2. Sound of Flames Chapter One

When she was five, something terrible happened. She didn't remember what exactly was done to her, but the aftermath was impossible to miss.

Sakura Sawada used to be a bright cheerful girl who loved being around people.

After that day, she never saw the sky again. In fact, she never saw much of anything after that.

The first clue Nana had that something was terribly wrong with her daughter came less than a week after her husband brought the "kindly" old man to their home along with his guards. She asked Sakura to bring her something from the kitchen...only to find her little girl looking around in a daze with her eyes unable to focus properly.

It only got worse from there. Within a month, Nana was given the grim prognosis from the doctors, all of whom said the same thing.

Physically, there was nothing wrong with her child. However it was very clear that Sakura had suffered some form of trauma...the result of which was that her mind shut down the parts of her mind that controlled her ability to see. Her child was declared legally blind at the young age of five years and four months from psychosomatic trauma.

With luck and a lot of love and care, Sakura _might_ be able to regain her sight again...but that was a big if. After all, the little girl's mind prevented her from remembering what caused the issue, and the adults were unwilling to force her to remember for fear of making it worse.

Nana cried herself to sleep while hugging her child tightly for weeks after hearing the news.

With time, Sakura learned to adjust to her new situation. She was young, and while her sight was gone her personality seemed more of a shell of what it had been before.

* * *

Sakura was crying. While she had learned to adjust to her situation, that didn't mean her classmates understood or accepted it.

Some of the meaner girls had grabbed her and shoved her into a locked room...one that was right next to a really loud machine that was sending her poor ears into sensory overload. She found it easier to get around by using her hearing.

Hearing the door slam open, she flinched from the noise.

A callused hand about the same size of her own grabbed her. She whimpered, before it loosened a bit and became much gentler.

"Small herbivore, I won't hurt you," said a voice.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, not that it really mattered.

Except she saw something. It was so warm and protective, yet aloof. Like the clouds she was starting to forget. The violet color was so very bright that when she felt the other child, a boy from the voice, take her hand, she gently squeezed it.

Feeling that gentle hand ruffle her hair, she relaxed. She was safe, protected. This person wouldn't hurt her.

She followed the boy out of the room, keeping close to him until she heard the familiar voice of her mother.

"Sakura!"

"Wao. You'll be fine now little bird."

Her mother hugged her tightly, thanking the little boy... Kyouya-kun... for finding her missing child.

It wouldn't be the first time Kyouya would be sent to find her.

"Wao. Little bird, did you get lost again?" asked Kyouya. His voice was uncharacteristically gentle around her, unlike others. His voice would grow hard and almost bloodthirsty if he was talking to anyone else.

She nodded shyly. Since losing her sight, she had become more introverted and not very outgoing. Having to adjust to 'seeing' with only her sense of hearing made her scared. Kyouya didn't complain, didn't take the fact she instinctively sought him out once she got lost in the mall out on her.

Instead he gently took her hand and started to look for her mother. She flinched whenever they got too close to crowds... she learned that loud noises _hurt_ and nothing was louder than a large group of adults. Especially girls.

Fortunately Kyouya didn't like crowds much either. He lead her far away from the large groupings of adults and to someplace much quieter. Within half an hour her mother found them, and she was openly relieved to see Kyouya with her child.

The boy was supposedly very violent towards others...but he was kind to her child and that was all that mattered.

Considering Sakura seemed to instinctively seek out the older boy, Nana made a decision. She gave Kyouya her phone number, which he accepted with a great deal of maturity.

Apparently he had noticed the girl had a sixth sense for finding him in a crowd. Oddly, he didn't seem to mind. It was hard to feel like she was crowding him, especially considering she couldn't see.

She felt more like a little bird who had her wings cruelly clipped too young, and now was denied the freedom to fly. She could hop around and walk, but the Sky was out of her reach.

Nana had clearly entrusted the safety of the little bird to him. And Kyouya would not fail in keeping her safe. After all...she was his to care for.

* * *

 _Sakura, age seven..._

Kyouya was in a bad mood today. Someone from his mother's family was supposed to be visiting, and Sakura's mother had recently gotten a letter from someone that her Mama was really mad at. She didn't want Sakura to stay in the house while he was there, but she had no friends to spend a few nights with.

Predictably, Kyouya found her within an hour and demanded to know why she was unhappy. Mostly because that generally meant several fools would soon be bitten to death in short order for bothering his little bird.

"You have unwanted family coming into town too?" said Kyouya, translating her quiet explanation.

Sakura nodded, her eyes as unfocused as ever. She had long since acquired a reputation among the children as being something of a "ditzy airhead who was always humming" and some of the adults who didn't know of her condition spoke of her being "not all there in the head". Needless to say Kyouya took great pleasure in disciplining anyone who was foolish enough to voice such things in his hearing. Or the hearing of his quickly growing force of almost-carnivores who had submitted to his rule.

The group quickly learned certain rules that were absolute.

One: when presenting reports do it in small groups of less than three.

Two: do not interrupt Kyouya while napping.

Three: Sakura-hime was to be protected or else, and if she was lost was to be directed immediately to her mother or Kyouya if found.

Anyone who didn't abide by those rules was bitten to death in short order.

Kyouya thought it over, before calling Sakura's mother. Within minutes she had a bag packed and was quietly shuffled off to Kyouya's house. Partly to keep her far, far away from Iemitsu, her so-called "Father", but also to act as a buffer between Kyouya and the one member of the family he could never intimidate or bite to death for getting on his nerves.

His grandfather, Fon.

Fon was strange, in Sakura's opinion. He felt like an adult and his 'fire' was a really pretty color that felt like an oncoming storm, one of the big ones.

Kyouya gently corrected where she looked, and she found that while she was looking up to where the red fire was centered, the real thing was much shorter. He was smaller than she was and rather amused at her reaction to him.

"Who is this adorable young lady?" asked Fon gently in Japanese.

Sakura blinked, before a shy smile came onto her face. Fon sounded kind, and the fire was gentle and warm. Like Kyouya.

"Sakura. Sawada Sakura," she said shyly, holding Kyouya's hand tightly. Kyouya grasped it a little tighter, letting her know he was there and would stay that way as long as she needed.

Fon watched the interaction with open interest.

"Well Sakura-san, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kyouya's favorite grandfather Fon."

Sakura giggled when Kyouya growled something under his breath about "annoying pint-sized carnivores".

Fon seemed to find her endlessly fascinating, and to the ire of Kyouya spent the majority of Iemitsu's visit with her...and by extension his grandson. Unfortunately for Kyouya, Sakura seemed just as fascinated with him and his pet monkey Lichi.

And then Kyouya's temper snapped. Like a brittle twig. With a loud snarl he grabbed his tonfa and went after Fon. The small man smirked and humored his grandson, though he didn't allow the younger boy to get the upper hand. If Kyouya beat him, he will have to earn it honestly.

Sakura, rather than feel afraid or alarmed by the sudden violence, "watched" entranced at the way the purple and red flames danced, almost like it was choreographed.

"So pretty...it's like dancing!" she said when Fon beat Kyouya.

Fon blinked, before a sly smile came upon his face.

"In a way it is a lot like dancing," he agreed. "Would you like to learn?"

Sakura blinked. Kyouya growled menacingly.

"Hands off my little bird you damn carnivore," snarled Kyouya.

"Come now Kyouya-kun. Surely it wouldn't hurt to let your...friend... learn how to defend herself," said Fon smiling.

It was clear Kyouya wasn't happy about the idea...but reluctantly agreed to let his "little bird" learn to fight. However he quickly vetoed anything like a sword or had sharp blades.

Though even Kyouya was caught off guard when Sakura turned out to be a natural at using a staff to fight. Bojutsu wasn't exactly a well practiced art anymore, what with guns becoming so prevalent these days, but considering Sakura was still blind and was still struggling to learn how to use her cane (half the time she completely forgot to bring it with her, and was still working on getting around solely based on what could only be echo-location) perhaps it wasn't that surprising at all.

And if Kyouya's grin was extra vicious as he realized his little bird could possibly be a hawk or other predatory creature in chick form... well, Fon certainly didn't comment on it.

Even if he was privately making bets with his daughter over when Kyouya would realize his obvious crush on the adorable little ball of fluff that was Sakura Sawada. Seriously, her smiles could be weaponized if she ever figured out how to pull it off.

* * *

Sakura tilted her head when she heard the odd sound that was completely out of place in her room. Today was White Day, and Kyouya had said he would reciprocate her home made chocolate that she had made with a lot of help from her mother.

Even if she would never be allowed near a kitchen alone until she could correctly identify spices by scent and learned how to use a knife without risking her health...she had been more or less banned from Home Economics class along with most of PE.

Considering she had just sat down on her bed and heard it, it took a few minutes of groping before her hand bumped into the anomaly and the sound rang in hear ears again. It was quiet, and really pretty.

She gave it an experimental shake, and her face widened into a smile as she identified the sound.

It was the tinkling of bells.

She slowly opened the box and her hands touched something metal, with small bells all around the edge of it. It took her a second to register it was a bracelet.

She slipped it on and gave it another shake. The little chimes of the bells on the metal was ridiculously soothing. And more than that, it worked perfectly with her hard-won ability to walk around without making a fool of herself without using that stupid cane that the adults insisted she use.

Dogs were too disruptive and Kyouya wasn't a fan of them unless they were wolves. And she had enough torment from the meaner children who thought it hilarious to take the cane she carried in her bag and hide it so she would stumble around.

They didn't understand why she couldn't see, just that it meant she was an easier target than before so long as Kyouya didn't find out.

Hence why she had to learn how to manage simply by using her hearing. Humming helped, but it made the other children and some of the meaner adults think she was scatterbrained and she wasn't allowed to do it when things got too loud. She could tap her shoes, because upon realizing what her daughter was doing her mother had started buying special ones that had metal in the soles that were mainly used for something called "tap dancing" which was really a lot of fun because she liked listening to the rhythm of the dance when her mother bought a video of it. However that was restricted to outside school, because she had to wear the same slippers as everyone else.

A bracelet, however... that was the perfect solution because she just had to give her arm a little shake to make the bells tinkle quietly without being a nuisance.

After all, the teachers couldn't yell at her for moving her arm. And she knew the other children wore jewelry, as some of the girls had loudly discussed piercing their ears.

Sakura smiled. And then she found the note.

Kyou-chan was really sweet, and his grandfather Fon was really interesting.

Fon was one of the rare people who didn't automatically treat her like an invalid the second he found out she was blind. Instead, he trained her in how to fight and become independent in her own way. Her mother had been alarmed...for all of five minutes...when she found out her child was learning how to hit people with a staff that could easily double as her cane.

Right up until she saw the smile on Sakura's face, because for the first time since losing her sight she felt completely free. She might stumble and fall, but learning how to defend herself gave her a sense of accomplishment that she had lost.

And really, the way Fon taught her to fight felt more like dancing than fighting.

 _To my Little Bird_

 _This is so you can see your way around and be able to locate people who need to be 'danced' to death. I better not have to send any more search parties because you got lost after this._

 _Kyouya_

Sakura giggled and listened to the tinkling of the bells.

"Sakura, dinner!"

Sakura used the sound from her new bracelet to find the door...it came much easier than before since she could focus on the quiet sound they made.

And then came the real test of the bracelet, as Nana went to turn on the stereo so Sakura could navigate the room easier. After she had mastered the ability to 'see' with sound, music was always playing at just the right volume level in the home until it was time for bed. It didn't matter what genre it was (though some Sakura or Kyouya vetoed outright for being painful to listen too, like heavy metal) music would play softly in the background.

One second there was silence, the next the stereo was blaring because Nana's hand hit the wrong nob. Sakura yelped, before she heard the soothing sound of the bells on her wrist. She immediately concentrated on that sound rather than the blaring sound of the stereo.

Nana quickly turned it down, a hand to her heart. That had been a real shock.

Immediately she checked on Sakura, only to find her child shaking her right wrist so that the bells on her new bracelet consistently made noise. Once assured that the music was at a much more tolerable volume level, Nana served dinner.

Kyouya truly knew the perfect gift for Sakura. Normally she would have been sent straight to the living room where she would try to muffle the overbearing sound with pillows, and Nana would have to talk her down from a sensory overload induced panic attack.


	3. Shattered Fates Chapter One

Tsunami Sawada knew there was something terribly wrong with her mother. It wasn't something she could explain, but it was as if there was something missing in her mother's mind.

It started innocently enough, with Nana cutting her daughter's hair. Tsuna didn't overly mind the short hair style...until she started picking up a strange change in behavior that told her she needed to run.

Iemitsu, a man she would never call "father", had wanted a son. And with her short hair, she looked more like a boy than ever especially with her being something of a tomboy to begin with.

But Nana began to forget she had given birth to a _daughter_ , not the son he had wanted. And Tsuna knew she needed to leave this house now, before something terrible happened.

A kidnapping provided the perfect opportunity. She was nowhere near Namimori and it would take some time for anyone to find her and bring her home.

Which meant she could be free. Free to live her life, even if it meant leaving her mother behind.

It wasn't like she had much tying her to Namimori besides her mother, and the woman was slowly losing herself in the fantasy she had created with her child. Nami refused to be stuck in the role of a boy simply because Iemitsu had wanted one.

Tsuna was not an idiot. Instead she followed her heart and her instincts. It allowed her to grab a ticket she saw on the counter and run far far away. Three days before Iemitsu finally got solid information on his missing daughter and made a raid.

It would be nine years before he sees his daughter again...and she had changed from the girl he remembered.

* * *

Blue eyes looked through the forest. A wicked grin slowly crept onto her face as she lined up the shot...and fired.

Loud swearing was heard in French.

" _Team Indigo is out, kora."_

Natsu lived for the free-for-all exercise her brother made. Colonello had been stumped on how to train her in shooting, until he thought up of the perfect training exercise for a small child.

So twice a month his trainees went into the forest armed with permanent markers and paint balls. Once assured that there would be no actual live ammo used, the trainees and Natsu went wild. It was a no holds barred game between trainees with Colonello arbitrarily choosing sides. For obvious reasons, Natsu was always on his along with her now permanent partner Gokudera.

The Storm kid had a chip on his shoulder, but a good heart. And once he got used to being partnered with Natsu-chan, he seemed to calm down a lot. The kid was a genius.

Colonello took the high ground, mostly so he could observe the teams and his sister.

It still amazed him that the little girl wormed herself to the point he openly adopted her as a little sister. He could still remember the day he meet the scraggly waif who looked up at him with her then big _brown_ eyes and ridiculously soft brown hair that went everywhere. Her clothes were torn, but there was such innocence in her eyes.

And she wanted to become a mercenary.

He had taken her in because children with such innocent eyes would be snatched up by the more depraved families and dealers in a heart beat and sold off. Even if it meant training her to be a soldier, it was still preferable to what could have happened.

So he gave her a small 'allowance' in lieu of a paycheck, trained her to be as dangerous as him, and did his best to keep her out of harm's way.

He refused to be part of stripping her childish innocence from her. No one deserved that.

And here they were, almost eight and a half years later.

Little Natsu was growing up to be quite a little terror, even if she had the majority of the Arcobelano (particularly Colonello) wrapped around her little fingers.

He'd never regret taking in the chibi. Never. She was just too damn cute, and he was sure even Lal would have hugged the girl to death and she was a hard ass!

Then something had him frown. He swore he just heard _live ammo_ in a play training session. All the trainees knew that all live ammunition was confiscated, and their combat knives were only allowed for the first ten minutes before they had to hand them in.

Colonello heard the distinct sound of Natsu's air horn blowing a warning alarm twice. That was the signal for a five minute ceasefire on all teams.

" _Some idiot just shot off live ammo near the borders of the training area. They almost hit Hayato!"_ said Natsu openly offended.

"What's your location?" asked Colonello. Any idiot who set off live ammo during today's exercise was going to get chewed out royally, and not just by him. Natsu could be particularly hellish especially since she hit her period...and that was _after_ she was personally trained by Fon for a year and a half.

The Storm Arcobelano had been positively amused when Colonello explained the favor he was asking. Still, the guy genuinely seemed to like kids and once he saw that even though Natsu was rather clumsy for some strange reason she still didn't give up, he had taken her with him.

The girl never complained, even when faced with conditions most children would openly balk at. Particularly young girls.

Natsu had gritted her teeth and went through the bug infested territory, though she seemed to try and take it out on Fon whenever she could through training.

Fon openly admitted to giving the girl some truly _vile_ foods that even he was leery of eating from his native cuisine and watching her reaction to them.

The girl was an absolute gem, and when Fon brought her back for her birthday he quietly informed the Rain that any favor owed was unnecessary.

Colonello would openly admit to dumping her on Verde the second she got her partner Hayato. The brat was a total pain in his ass, and after realizing Natsu was falling behind on an education (because in this day and age education was very important if you didn't want to be taken advantage of) he had called the _only_ Arcobelano who could possibly get her caught up in a ridiculously short period of time.

Verde caved into her magnetic aura within two months, though it took almost seven before he quit subjecting the Storm brat to the humiliation of being his person gopher/experiment.

It was Verde who clued Colonello to something none of them suspected. Natsu wasn't Flame Latent, she was _Sealed._ And whoever did the Sealing was someone who had a very potent, very old Flame.

Verde was only able to narrow the candidates for the act to a trained Sky, but not one he recognized.

Colonello flew down to the edge with Falco, to where Natsu was already reading the riot act to the idiot who had shot off the live ammo.

The second he saw that damn fedora and the chameleon he swore internally.

"Dammit Reborn, live ammo is restricted! There are rules posted not ten feet from you in multiple languages, kora!" said Colonello crossly.

Hayato was firmly attached to Natsu, but more in a right-hand-man sort of way or possibly a brotherly one, and not any romantic inclinations. Otherwise Colonello would have shot him on principle.

And no, he was not in denial that his baby sister would one day notice boys and start dating. She wasn't even going to look at the opposite sex until she was thirty, dammit!

And look, there was Reborn's current pet project. Poor kid was bearing the brunt of the asshole's boredom.

Reborn shot him a dry look.

"The brat shot at me first," he explained patiently.

Colonello's eyebrow twitched. He looked at Hayato.

"This true, kora?"

"The rules clearly state anyone within the marked borders is fair game and he was two trees in. I thought he was some stupid Mist illusion to distract us," said Hayato.

Okay, Colonello could give him that. The rules were placed outside the tree line for this very reason and it wasn't that far fetched that a Mist _could_ have sent a Reborn illusion to distract them.

However Reborn was supposedly the World's Greatest Hitman. He should have at least noted the sign and read the rules. Hell, they alerted the staff that the backstage was off limits to outsiders during these games because they were meant to give the trainees a day to relax and have a bit of fun on their fellow rookies. He should have known not to enter the forest.

"When did you acquire such a young pair of puppies?" he asked Colonello.

The Rain twitched. He didn't want Reborn to know Natsu was his little sister, even if she was adopted.

He barely tolerated Viper knowing about her, even if they fell prey to Natsu's charm like the others did.

"I'm not a damn dog, regardless of what that damn Lightning said about me!" growled Hayato. It really didn't help his case.

Reborn smirked at him. He frothed at the mouth.

"Hayato, chill. Not like this brat knows anything since he apparently can't even _read_ or understand others," Natsu shot back.

Colonello snickered. That was an obvious jibe at Reborn's failure to read the signs or listen to the staff.

"Natsu, why don't you go check and make sure everyone heard the ceasefire, kora?" he said with a grin.

"You got it, commander!" she said with a proper salute.

Reborn watched her with an odd expression on his face.

"I didn't know you had a daughter."

Colonello twitched.

"She's my sister, you ass. She's also off limits," said Colonello with a growl.

None of them had really been inclined to a physical relationship since being cursed, and anyone who got off on that sort of kink would have been killed by them on principle.

Reborn eyed Colonello with an unreadable expression.

"She's adopted isn't she? I can tell her hair is dyed," he said.

"Does it really matter? Why are you even here, kora?"

Reborn hooked a thumb at the poor bastard behind him.

"I came to throw Dino to your tender mercies."

"Well it will have to wait. We're almost done with our exercise and I'm not about to throw someone into our day off. It would throw everything off, kora."

"Then I'll have a nice long chat with that interesting little pair of puppies you've picked up."

"Like hell you will. Stay away from my sister, kora!" growled Colonello, his glare speaking volumes of how serious he was.

Reborn raised an eyebrow. Colonello was acting...off. Normally he wouldn't have attached himself to some random kid like this. Hell, he was acting as territorial as a _Cloud_ around this girl.

The only time he saw this type of behavior...was around a Guardian keeping an unknown they knew to be dangerous away from their Sky.

Suddenly Reborn's interest in the girl shot up. It would take a powerful Sky to snag someone like Colonello, and he'd eat his precious hat if the Storm brat wasn't already Harmonized with her. Watching the two interact was informative.

Colonello had firmly established himself as a "Big Brother/male role model" figure in Natsu's life. Hayato, the right-hand/best friend. And yet nothing about the girl said she was an active Sky. In fact if he was any judge she felt like someone who only had the bare minimum of Flames to live and nothing else.

Something wasn't adding up, and her facial features were damn familiar for some reason.

* * *

The last Heir of the Vongola was dead, leaving young Tsunami Sawada the only one capable of taking the post of Decimo. Unless Iemitsu got off his ass and got his wife pregnant again, which wasn't likely. And even if he did, there was no guarantee the child would be a Sky, much less survive long enough to take the title.

So Reborn was told to go to Namimori and begin the girl's training.

At least, that was the plan anyway.

The second Reborn saw the photograph, all sorts of alarms went off in his head.

He looked at Nono with a raised eyebrow, his expression blank but his eyes having none of his usual chaotic humor.

"Is this supposed to be some sort of joke?" he asked bluntly, not amused in the least.

Nono blinked.

"I am dead serious. Tsunami will be the next heir."

"I'm not talking about that, Timoteo. I talking about this file. This photograph is clearly altered," said Reborn flatly, anger rising in his voice.

"What."

"This is clearly a digitally altered photograph with a time-lapse alteration. Where is the most current photo of the girl? And why is this file so thin? Two pages is not enough for me to work with, not for this assignment."

The photo was not a proper picture of what the girl looked like, and there was no mention of her current grades, personality, likes or dislikes. In fact, for the file of a potential heir of the family _and_ the daughter of the man who was supposed to _run_ the intelligence division, the information was clearly outdated. At the very least it should have her grade point average, and that was completely missing.

Nono looked completely baffled, as if he had never noticed it.

Coyote looked at the file, and then he gave his boss a look.

"Reborn's right, this file can't possibly be accurate. Not for someone of our family. And that photograph is definitely made with some computer program. What the hell is Iemitsu trying to pull?"

And that wasn't all. The photograph looked very familiar. Too familiar.

Change the hair to dyed blond and the eyes to a deep blue and it looked almost identical to Colonello's adopted sister Natsu.

A lot of little details were adding up to something that Reborn really didn't like.

Natsu pulled people to her like a Sky, but felt like she didn't have any Flames outside of what was needed to live. And the file he had on Tsunami clearly stated the girl had been sealed at five...which would have disastrous effects on a still developing child. Especially a Sky with the Vongola blood.

"You need to call Iemitsu in and have him explain why he sent you a false file on his own daughter," said Reborn.

Nono's eyes grew hard. It was entirely possible Tsunami was dead, and Iemitsu was trying to cover it up. The man was always bragging about his child, despite never seeing her for months, years at a time.

But he also knew Reborn. He could see the Arcobelano was holding something back.

 _A few hours later..._

Nono went from unhappy at being tricked straight to _livid_ with his favorite nephew.

Not only was Tsunami Sawada missing, but the girl had been gone so long that most of the neighbors dismissed her existence as nothing more than a mother who couldn't cope with the loss of her daughter. And the less said about their attitude towards Iemitsu, the better. If not for the marriage certificate and the rings, people would openly believe him to be Nana's deadbeat boyfriend who mooched off her when he was low on funds.

Going back several years, Nono discovered CEDEF had gotten word of an abducted child belonging to the Vongola, but had come up empty. They had dismissed it out of hand and forgotten about it entirely.

So now they were quit possibly out of an heir and out of options, all because of Iemitsu's incompetence and stupidity in not keeping a closer eye on his family.

There was only _one_ reason Timoteo still had hope, and that was Reborn. He had seen the Sun take a pair of markers and alter the fake photo to give it a slightly different look, before nodding to himself.

Timoteo gave Reborn a new order. Find the missing Tsunami and insure she was capable of taking on the role of Decimo.

* * *

Natsu looked past the shore line into the distance. She shivered again and pulled her jacket tighter.

"You haven't been sleeping lately, kora. Something up?" asked Colonello with concern.

"There's a strange wind blowing," she said, her eyes distant and almost blank. Like she was seeing something no one else could. "Something that will change a lot of things, for good or ill I can't tell."

Colonello trusted her instincts. It had saved her more than once, and even Fon said she seemed to have a sixth sense.

"Any idea where the change will come from?"

Natsu suddenly looked up, shading her eyes.

"Sun. It comes from the sun and a sky that has become clouded with grief and weariness."

Colonello sat on her shoulder, trying to understand. From what he got, something involving Reborn was heading their way, but it could go good or bad depending on how they reacted to it.

Considering the recent rumors out of the Vongola involving the sudden death of their last available heir, he had a bad feeling things were going to get complicated very quickly.

If he was right, then there wasn't any question of what was going to happen. He would follow his baby sister anywhere, especially if it meant keeping her safe in the cutthroat world he lived in.


	4. Forge of Flames Chapter One

**There will be brief mentions of FMA in here.**

* * *

There was a finger on fire, a poke in the middle of his head, and the unpleasant feeling of something being forcibly clamped down. Where the pretty fires inside had been a raging blaze that went throughout his entire body, now it was a bare ember. One that did _not_ like being caged.

It _hurt_.

 _Connection established._

 _Uploading previous file into new parameters..._

 _Upload complete._

 _New Game... Start._

Tsuna blacked out.

The small child woke up to a really weird scene. At least it would be if the boy didn't have a splitting headache...and memories that belonged to another life.

He looked at himself in the tiny mirror to see something floating above his head as if it had always been there.

 _Tsunayoshi (Tsuna) Sawada_

 _The Gamer_

 _Level: 3_

 _Status: Sealed_

There were boxes everywhere, but he barely paid them any mind.

For the next week, he adjusted to his new life.

First was the never ending series of "Quests". They ranged from minor to extremely annoying in their repetitive nature.

Then there was the status page, which had weird things like "DEX", "INT", "WIS"... he didn't get it and he didn't know what the points were for at all.

And don't get him started on the dungeons. He wandered into one once, and made a point to avoid them for a long time.

But the thing he hated the absolute most was his fellow classmates, save for one or two rare exceptions.

Thanks to the "seal", his physical ability was the absolute worse as the flames were too sporadic for him to be able to keep up. And the less said about the migraines he got from trying to understand things the better.

Dame-Tsuna was the name they saddled him with, and he loathed them all for it.

It wouldn't be until he was around seven that he figured out how to distribute those points that kept accumulating for two long years.

Thanks to the seal, his "DEX" was -20 and his "WIS" and "INT" were both -25 for every level gained.

And considering he was the second highest level among his peers (barring one oddity named Hibari Kyouya who was always ten or so levels above him) that meant he had a lot of work ahead of him.

Good thing he never really messed with the points until now.

He really needed to find a way to improve his "DEX" points until he figured out how to get rid of that stupid "Sealed" status. The other two were easier... the library became his refuge, even if all his constant reading almost got him saddled with a pair of glasses.

And what the heck was with that stupid timer that always popped up whenever he opened up the status page! It was always counting down to something, but from what he could tell the dumb thing was _years_ away!

Tsuna fumed, before calming himself.

He walked home alone, for once devoid of his ever present book. People didn't notice him when he had a book, and he never heard the awful teasing of those around him whenever he read.

 _ **Perfect Concentration:**_ _+100 to information absorption -100 to Outside Taunts_ was awesome like that.

He would have had to use a lot more points to "WIS" and "INT" if he didn't use that as a way to ignore all the cruel remarks of his peers.

He was almost through the main district when he saw him.

It was a toddler by appearance, but the description he got from a silent "Observe" almost had him drooling.

No way was that kid a normal one, not with a level over 500!

Tsuna followed the red-clothed "toddler" without hesitation, and a few times the toddler diverted his path, but eventually he went to the park.

He very clearly knew _someone_ was following him.

Tsuna looked around for the toddler and almost gave up... then he looked above him and found the 'toddler' with the weird pacifier above him. The 'boy' chuckled with amusement.

"Good instincts, little one," he said, falling to the ground without concern. "Why were you following me?"

"You looked interesting," replied Tsuna honestly.

That, and he really wanted to find out how this toddler got to five hundred when he was lucky to eek out a level every few months. Stupid daily quests and tasks had topped out, leaving him without a steady stream of "EXP".

The toddler chuckled.

"My name is Fon. What's yours?" he asked.

"Tsuna."

Fon had looked for the boy's parents the second he realized who, or more specifically "what" was following him. He didn't see a single adult stop the obvious child once, or call out to him.

"Where are your parents?" he asked.

"Momma is probably at home and hasn't noticed school already let out... and Papa never comes home," said Tsuna.

Fon narrowed his eyes a bit, catching the obvious hint of bitterness at the mention of the boy's father. Clearly there was something there the child didn't like but was powerless to do anything against. And what sort of mother let a child this young wander around after school hours without an adult to watch them? The boy couldn't possibly be older than six or seven.

"What about your friends?"

"I'm Dame. I don't deserve friends," Tsuna said duly. He had been told it often enough that he was starting to believe it was true.

Fon was already suspicious, but there was something definitely off about this situation. It was abundantly clear the boy was starved for someone to talk to, and had followed him on a whim.

So he let Tsuna lead him back to his house, if only to get a better grasp on the situation.

It was worse than he imagined.

There was no outright neglect or abuse... but the mother was so lost in her own world that she failed to notice something was terribly off about her child. Tsuna worked around her with far too much ease.

The woman tutted about her son being clumsy, and he ignored the way she treated him like a child with the ease of unfortunate practice. But it was the pain in the boy's eyes that told him another story.

His mother never noticed the obvious signs of bullying.

Well, that was one thing he could help correct, or at least bolster the child's confidence a little. Besides, it had been some time since he had an apprentice.

Which was why the first thing Fon asked Tsuna once they were safely in his room was... "How would you like to learn Chinese Kenpo?"

* * *

 _Tsuna, age 10_

He had done it. He had done the one thing he had been working for since the first "memory" from the older soul in him had managed to break free of that blasted seal. Thanks to the mastery of the other soul, he could now craft items without a circle... unless it was really tricky or too high for his level.

 _Alchemy Forge- Unlocked_

 _ **Alchemy Forge-** Alchemy is the ancient art of Transmutation. The act of changing one thing into another through the force of one's will upon the world. There are no limits except your imagination. But remember the cardinal Rules of Alchemy. _

" _To Obtain, Something of Equal Value Must Be Lost"._

 _Warning: Human transmutation skill set is Locked._

Tsuna wanted to laugh. All that hard training with Fon had helped a lot. Thanks to the tiny martial artist he was able to overcome that stupid Seal Debuff.

Of course he had a bit of trouble proving the whole "Gamer" thing to the cursed man. But after seeing Tsuna execute a basic series of stances from a scroll that abruptly burst into orange flames without having opened it to memorize them, he was a believer.

Though he seemed unusually angry over the fact Tsuna's father and another sealed his "Flames" when he was only five. Fon-sensei wouldn't explain why, but finding that out (and Tsuna explaining about the "debuff" as he had learned it was called) meant that he increased his training to the point he could at least consider himself a threat.

Something some rather stupid kidnappers found out the hard way. Tsuna had broken their bones and escaped _before_ Fon found him and decided to teach them to not press their luck.

And now he had _finally_ unlocked the ability to use Alchemy. Stupid level lock.

The other seemed unusually giddy, but it had suffered withdrawals without it's usual ability to fight back sealed.

Tsuna eager went to transmute a simple origami crane.

He deflated immediately upon realizing with open annoyance that just because his "Alchemy Forge" was finally unlocked didn't mean he could use it as frequently as the other did.

He really hated that Seal. First it made him "Dame-Tsuna", now it was deliberately restricting his ability to craft using the Alchemy Forge! This sucked!

His FP was pitifully low, especially compared to Hibari's...but this was the first time he had a chance to even _use_ it!

" _You looked rather vexed, little lion,"_ said a familiar voice in Cantonese.

" _Stupid Seal is ruining everything again. I finally unlock the ability to craft items, and I can't even make a simple crane from paper because the Seal is blocking Active Flame abilities!"_ said Tsuna in the same language.

Fon patted his head with sympathy. While he had shared several Useful techniques involving Flames with the boy, mostly as a precaution for when Iemitsu finally found out that the Storm Arcobelano was training his son in how to fight, the seal had made it all but impossible for Tsuna to train in anything save for the weakest techniques.

On the plus side, Fon shamelessly abused this "Gamer" ability to shove as many languages and other useful pieces of knowledge into the kid's head. Once he achieved a "Mastery", he moved on to the next one.

The boy was a voracious reader, and he learned them very quickly.

Suddenly Tsuna froze as he heard an unwanted and unwelcome voice.

"Where's my little Tuna~!"

"Oh god, it's the parasite..." groaned Tsuna. Fon grimaced.

He already had a low opinion of Iemitsu Sawada for not realizing his presence within a few months, and that was before Tsuna trusted him enough to explain about the Gamer ability...and the damn seal.

Fon had to leave shortly after to deal with Triad business... but if he happened to use the assassination as an excuse to vent, well, no one was stupid enough to comment on it within his hearing.

Tsuna quickly grabbed one of his many, many books and hid behind it the second the door opened. He once again thanked whatever gods were listening for _Perfect Concentration_ , because it allowed him to firmly ignore the "Parasite" as Tsuna had taken to calling him.

Besides...it was in Iemitsu's description.

Iemitsu tried a few times to get his son's attention, except Tsuna was firmly engrossed in a book. Finally he gave up, before going to pay attention to his wife.

Tsuna thought that would be the end of it...except the window opened a few seconds after Iemitsu was firmly in "love-love" mode with his mother Nana and a girl who was the same size as Fon-sensei came into the room.

She looked beyond irritated for some reason.

"Who are you?" asked Tsuna curiously, even if he could read her description perfectly well.

 _Lal Mirch_

 _Former COMBUSKN Captain/Failed Arcobelano_

She ignored him, which Tsuna thought was very rude considering she had come into his room without even asking.

So he tried another tact.

" _Who are you and why are you in my room?"_ he asked in Italian.

Her eyes widened and she turned to stare at him.

" _You speak Italian?"_ she said in shock.

He nodded.

She cursed, only to get a head slap from Fon.

" _Not in front of my apprentice. He's not even eleven,"_ said Fon in Italian.

She glared at him.

" _Fon. Why are you here?"_

Fon's eyes went half-closed, meaning he was enjoying himself. Tsuna had become very good at reading his teacher's mood.

" _Why trying to help Tsuna overcome the Seal the parasite downstairs so foolishly demanded be placed on him."_

Lal's eyes narrowed.

" _What seal?"_

Fon had a very angry aura around him, but he kept it in check. Tsuna didn't need to explain the damage done by Storm Flames to his room. Iemitsu would almost certainly recognize it.

" _The_ parasite (Fon spat out the nickname Tsuna had given his father like a curse) _convinced someone with Sky Flames to seal Tsuna when he was five."_

Lal's eyes widened in horror. The _only_ reason you would need to seal Flames would be if they were active. And to do it so casually to a child... it was a miracle the boy was even functioning! She looked at Tsuna with wide eyes.

"I noticed Fon-sensei when I was seven and he looked more interesting than reading so I followed him," said Tsuna in Japanese quietly. He shrugged. "It's not much, but training with him has helped my balance since the Seal makes any physical activities difficult at best."

Lal breathed through her nose with repressed rage.

"I am going to kill him. That ass goes on and on about his kid but never said anything about _sealing_ him."

"Oh, it gets better," said Fon, his amusement fake and everyone knew it. "Tsuna is a Sky Flame."

Lal really looked pissed. Skies were to be cherished, and having that Flame was akin to being royalty among Flames. To seal it away at all, especially so young... it went against everything they believed it that it simply wasn't done!

And Iemitsu did it to his own _son_.

Parasite didn't begin to describe what a fool he was.

"I'll keep my silence on your presence here," promised Lal.

And after her current contract was up with that idiot, she was quitting CEDEF. Maybe Colonello wouldn't mind some help training the morons in Mafia Land? She couldn't look at Iemitsu now without wanting to kill him.

Fon, hearing someone come up the stairs, disappeared. If Lal had followed Iemitsu here, she could easily claim she thought she saw an intruder or something to explain her presence. Or that she thought the poor kid looked bored.

Iemitsu truly was an idiot. Not once did he bother to look around for why Lal would break cover and enter Tsuna's room...if he had he would have noticed Fon hiding on the rather tall bookshelf.

Instead the man gave Lal a look that made her scowl before returning to his wife without caring about his son.

"God I hate that idiot. I'd rather put up with Reborn than his stupidity..." muttered Lal with a growl.

"Who's Reborn?"

Lal looked at Fon.

"I was more interested in training him than telling him about the others," he shrugged.

So apparently there were others like Fon and Lal, except with different Flames.

Reborn, who had the Yellow Pacifier of the Sun, worked occasionally for the Vongola but was currently training someone else under contract.

Skull, who had the Purple Pacifier of the Cloud, was a coward and an inverted Cloud. He was working under a family he didn't like, but his real job was acting as a stunt biker.

Viper, the Indigo Pacifier of the Mist, had gone missing for some time but it was suspected they had changed their name and gone into hiding.

Colonello, who had taken Lal's place as the Blue Pacifier of the Rain, worked as a trainer on an island where Flames users could relax without having to hide what they were.

Verde, who had the Green Pacifier of Lightning, was a scientist who had few qualms about experimenting on anything and everything...including humans.

Aria, who held the Orange Pacifier of the Sky, was the second one to hold it. They didn't really know her very well, having left soon after she grew up.

Tsuna absorbed this knowledge with ears wide open. He loved learning new things, since every step he took was another step to overcoming that stupid Seal.


	5. Grimm Harmonies Chapter One

**Anyone else as pissed as I am that they ended Grimm? Because while the ending didn't completely suck I still wish there was more of it to watch.**

* * *

A small figure with a fedora and chameleon walked into a quiet town. He had been charged with training the last remaining heir of the Vongola Familigia, and he was intent on completing his contract, regardless of how the boy felt about it.

The problem? It took him five very long, annoying hours to track down where the boy was, and the kid had the most ridiculous disguise barring some of his own. He looked like someone of Chinese descent and even had the accent right, and wore sunglasses indoors.

"Welcome to Arashi Apothecary. What do you need?" he said with a distinct accent.

"I'm looking for Tsunayoshi Sawada."

The man behind the counter paused, before sighing.

"Registration or other?" he asked tiredly, accent gone completely.

"Registration?" repeated Reborn dumbly.

The boy tilted the sunglasses down and gave him an odd look.

"You _do_ know what this store doubles as...right?" he asked slowly.

"All I know is that I spent five hours trying to find you because no one said what your part time job is," said Reborn impatiently. "I've been sent to train you into becoming a mafia boss."

"...Which family?" asked Tsuna.

"Vongola. Before you ask, there aren't any other heirs."

"Figures. I... oh what now?" said Tsuna in exasperation.

A girl ran into the shop trying to take deep breaths.

"Tsuna-kun, there's a new Blutbad in town and they're going after the Bauerschwein. Also, the Klaustreich are having fights in the alleys again. Kyouya is having his usual nap..." she reported.

"Dammit, why can't they give me _one_ week of peace and quiet. And why the hell can't that damn idiot take his 'naps' when my shift is over?!" said Tsuna in exasperation, before reaching under the counter for something.

Reborn's eyes went wide when he saw the kid pull out an honest to god battle ax and calmly put it over his shoulder, before grabbing a well-worn armband. He also slung a belt around his waist that had multiple pockets strapped along the leather.

What. The. Hell.

"Celia, the store's yours until I get back."

She gave him a salute and sent him the coordinates of the last known locations. He took off running with more skill and speed than Reborn would have expected considering he was _supposed_ to be sealed.

It took little time for Reborn to catch up, and he promptly took a spot on Tsuna's shoulder, careful to avoid the sharp edges of the ax.

Because seriously, who ran with an ax strapped to their back?

His day got really confusing and surreal as Tsuna calmly ran towards an adult man scaring two other men. Something about him shifted, but Reborn couldn't see what. But he took one look at Tsuna and snarled an odd word.

"Grimm!"

The man promptly ignored the other two (who seemed _relieved_ to see Tsuna for some bizarre reason) before charging at the teen.

What happened made Reborn serious question Iemitsu's intelligence, because there was no way in hell Tsuna was a normal civilian. He fought like a pro, striking a particular spot in the man's back that sent him sprawling into the pavement with absolute agony, before calmly placing the ax to the man's neck.

"I'm not going to bother asking who you are because clearly you're new to town or just a tourist. Ergo you don't know the _rules_ of Namimori at all. Fights over legitimate grievances are settled in the arena or the Tribunal only. We do not allow the 'species' bias between Wesen in this city, because it causes unnecessary disturbances to the peace. Be grateful I was the one sent to deal with you, because the other Grimm in town wouldn't have been so nice and would have bitten you to death for disturbing his nap," said Tsuna in a dead calm voice.

The man spat something in German, and Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"Screw you too, asshole. Now are you going to leave peacefully or do I have to have you removed by force?"

The German tried to twist around to rip Tsuna's leg. Too bad Tsuna was clearly prepared for such a thing, because he took out a vial and simply blew it in the man's face.

From the scent of it, Reborn would have to guess it was cayenne pepper powder. The man started screaming as his eyes watered from pain.

Two hits later and he was out cold.

Tsuna took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Kusakabe-san, we got an idiot Blutbad from out of town caught harassing Bauerschwein and I just knocked him out. Mind having some of the committee come and pick the fool up and see how Kyouya wants to handle it? Yeah, I have my cuffs. I also have to deal with some alley cats having a pissing contest."

Less than five minutes later, two teens with black armbands and pompadours appeared and took the man into custody. Tsuna was off to deal with the "alley cats"...who took one look at him and backed off immediately. Both were pretty scratched up, but evidently feared Tsuna enough to call it off.

"Gentlemen, you know the rules. If you want to have a pissing contest then schedule a match in the arena like everyone else, not in the alleyways where you might accidentally be _seen_ ," said Tsuna patiently.

The two looked rather chastised, before going off to cool their heads.

At this point Reborn couldn't contain himself any more.

"What. The. Fuck."

"What's wrong?" asked Tsuna. Then it hit him what the problem was. "Oh, right. You said something about the mafia didn't you. Which means any files you got would have come from the idiot or his friends."

"What the hell is going on here?!" demanded Reborn.

Tsuna took out a phone and dialed what was obviously a very familiar number to the teen. After a short conversation in Chinese, he handed it to Reborn.

"All questions should be directed to someone more informed about the Mafia than I am, and recognized enough to trust the source. I need to get back to the shop anyway."

Reborn took the phone...and the second he recognized the voice he stiffened, before directing his questions towards Fon.

What. The. Hell.

* * *

 _Fon POV_

The Storm Arcobaleno...and secret Grimm...chuckled at the confusion and bafflement in Reborn's voice. From the sound of it, he had just gotten blindsided by the other world hidden under his nose and now he had to play catch up because no one told him of the rules.

He almost felt sorry for Reborn, but this was too funny not to enjoy a little amusement at his expense.

"Hello Reborn. From the sound of it I'm guessing that the Vongola have finally realized they need to bring Tsuna-kun in and you're stuck training him," said Fon. You could hear him trying desperately not to laugh at the obvious confusion Reborn _had_ to be feeling.

Fon listened patiently, but you could easily hear his amusement as he explained things to Reborn.

"I can send you the _actual_ file on Tsuna's skills, since I know for a fact the one the Vongola have is so off it's a joke. And before you ask, it was done deliberately because Iemitsu was an idiot. No, Tsuna doesn't have his Flames sealed, and I'm sure he'd be happy to explain to you the reason why they believe it was done as Iemitsu demanded. Oh, and before you try anything I'd learn the rules of the city, otherwise my grandson will be very angry with Tsuna."

He was going to enjoy this, and Reborn knew it.

* * *

Reborn stared at Tsuna, who hadn't bothered to put on his "disguise" (mostly for the "normal" adults who didn't like the idea of a fifteen year old shop owner without an actual adult) and kept his glasses on.

"Let me get this straight. Your grandfather on your mother's side is something called a 'Grimm', and your job is to keep these...Wesen... in line."

Tsuna cheerfully pointed at Celia, who's face seemed to ripple before actual feathers, golden eyes and... was that a beak... came on her face. She looked like some kind of humanoid bird thing with a slight bulge in her neck.

"Celia is a Seltenvogel, which is basically like a 'golden goose' in some sense. She helps run the shop, mostly because it's a known 'safe haven' for Wesen to do their shopping, recover from fights that might accidentally expose them to the normal, or to alert Kyouya that they're here and want the basic 'protection' we provide for the community."

"And the sunglasses? Do they help you see them or something?" asked Reborn.

"Actually they're to help hide the fact he's a Grimm. One of the easiest ways for Wesen to recognize a Grimm is by the eyes... they're like black coals that see right through our ability to hide when we Woge and it's rather disconcerting," supplied Celia.

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"It's easier to hide when I wear these. I can pretend I'm not one of the idiots who make up the majority of my classmates."

"And why were you carrying an ax into that fight?"

"Because Kyouya is a territorial bastard, and decided rather than chasing out the errant Wesen in his territory he was going to enforce a common code of discipline that they all had to follow or he'd bite them to death. Once they realized he wasn't going to target them simply for being Wesen, and that I was more interested in running this apothecary, they pretty much accepted the new rules and things fell into place."

"What rules are those?" asked Reborn.

Tsuna pulled out a rather thick book in multiple languages, including Italian.

 **Rule one: all disputes have to be settled in either the communal arena or by a tribunal made of the same species or similar to the Wesen in question.**

 **Rule two: any disputes between species have to be settled in the arena over legitimate grievances only. Hunting other Wesen for sport is not tolerated, ever.**

 **Rule three: Obey the directions of the Special Disciplinary Committee during a crisis or else.**

 **Rule four: no targeting the local Grimm for existing... outside Grimm are not to be attacked without previous provocation.**

 **Rule five: any rites or ceremonies specific to certain Wesen must be either kept within acceptable means for 'human' activities or must be done outside the city and zero witnesses. Anything involving human hunting or sacrifice must be restricted to criminals or yakuza _only_.**

 **Rule six: Hibari Kyouya hates people. Deal with it. If you want sympathy for your problems, go to Tsuna first.**

Reborn's eyebrows went up with every rule he read.

"So let me get this straight. This... Hibari made the rules and makes damn sure that the local 'Wesen' follow them enough to keep the peace, but can't be bothered with actually helping them. Why are you selling herbs and spices, while dealing with the minor matters on the side?" asked Reborn baffled.

"Because I'm a Grimm too and actually happen to be sympathetic, and when the previous owner died no one wanted to step up and deal with the less savory Wesen who he had dealings with coming to bother them. Once they got used to the idea of a Grimm actually being _nice_ instead of going after Wesen indiscriminately, business picked back up. I mostly wear the glasses as a courtesy to newcomers."

"And the registration thing?"

"That's mostly so I can keep track of what specific Wesen I'm dealing with, since some species have allergies or specific medical needs in the event they're injured. It's also so Kyouya can keep a census of how many Wesen are in the city and helps him eliminate problems when I'm having trouble finding the issue."

Namely in that he would make "home visits", scare the crap out of the Wesen in the process, and then tell Tsuna so he would deal with it instead. Most of the time it was an outsider, but it was nice to eliminate the locals first.

Generally speaking the locals had any hatred or anger towards Grimm beaten out of them by Kyouya by the time he came knocking. They respected him as a fellow predator, and that extended to Tsuna because he wasn't afraid to cut off heads if they were going to be unreasonable.

The ax was mostly for intimidation purposes at this point.

"I have no idea how to deal with this."

Tsuna shrugged helplessly.

"I know how to fight and to do a lot of basic healing, but no one said I couldn't be a mafia boss _and_ a Grimm on the side. I mostly run the shop because I enjoy it and because I like to meet people who won't automatically think of me as Dame-Tsuna like the rest of them do."

The Wesen never called him Dame-Tsuna to his face, ever. They were too scared, or after they got to know him properly, respected him too much.

As such Tsuna was more inclined to be nicer to them than he was to humans. A sentiment Kyouya happened to firmly agree with. Hell, Celia was actually the rather grumpy teen's girlfriend!

(Tsuna fully suspected that had something to do with the fact Kyouya had a major soft spot for birds, and she felt like a smaller one when Woged. He didn't like it when people tried to kidnap her for some stupid egg-shaped rock in her neck.)

Seeing Reborn was still having trouble with the news there was more than just the underworld and the mafia that Tsuna dealt with, the teen cheerfully went into one of the back rooms which had a lock on it, disabled the trap, and brought out a massive, and very old book.

"Have fun reading. I mostly use them for reference these days," said Tsuna cheerfully.

"...This is in German. Old German, like the kind you'd only be able to hear in the really old country areas like the Black Forest. I wouldn't even know where to begin reading this," said Reborn flatly.

"You don't speak German?" said Tsuna, tilting his head. He spoke multiple languages, and could read even more. It was sort of a 'requirement' his grandfather had drilled into him, the same for Kyouya.

The older teen just didn't care for it... he'd bit any Wesen that caused trouble to death just fine without having to know or care what it was. If he did need to know, then he'd just make Tsuna research what it was and how to kill it.

The two had a very odd working relationship. One that had turned into an even stronger harmonization once Kyouya's Flames finally went active.

Fon had been pleased, since it meant his grandson would always have a partner he could rely on with the difficult ones. Tsuna was just a little annoyed he was stuck doing all the paperwork for the "Special Disciplinary Committee" and the regular one because Kyouya would simply ignore it until he had to deal with it.

Reborn gave Tsuna a very odd look.

"So just to clarify things... Your grandfather had a special gift that allows you to see animal people, your mother knew about it and helped dose Nono and Iemitsu when they were planning to seal you and made it look like they succeeded, and you run a spice shop slash apothecary slash safe house. Screw this, I need a damn drink!"

"What's your poison?" asked Tsuna without hesitation. Seeing the look Reborn shot him, he smirked. "Seriously, what brand do you drink? We have a well stocked liquor cabinet at home both for the really unpleasant cases and as a source of quick weaponry in the form of Molotov Cocktails that even Mama can use in a pinch. Just because she didn't inherit didn't mean she was oblivious to Wesen."

She was usually the one patching him up in the beginning, before he got good enough to handle himself. She just played the oblivious part because it made it easier for people to slip up and say things they shouldn't around her.

"...Got any liquor that goes well with high-quality coffee?" asked Reborn hopefully.

"White Russian, cinnamon liquor, or vodka?" he asked back.

"After today I might just try all three," said Reborn.

He would wake up with a monumental hangover, discover Fon had sent a digital copy of the files overnight and then nurse a very large amount of coffee while he sorted out the information and a hangover remedy Tsuna whipped up for him.

At least the situation wasn't as entirely hopeless as the last time. Tsuna seemed much more competent than Dino had been.


	6. Hunter x Of x Flames Chapter One

When he was seven, Tsunayoshi (commonly called "Dame-Tsuna" by his peers) came home to a sight that would forever change him, never mind the events that would transpire immediately after.

His mother, cold on the ground with a suspicious red puddle forming around her. Before he could even cry out and go to her, a large hand appeared without warning with something that smelled off. He never even had the chance to say goodbye, or to pretend he had imagined it, because he woke up in another country with people he certainly didn't know that set off all the alarms in his head.

He screamed until his voice gave out, every time they came for him.

The only comfort he had in that terrible place was that he wasn't alone...there were three others who had managed to keep their sanity in this hell.

Joushima Ken, a feral kid who was able to 'shift' into different animal characteristics, but once you got past his rough exterior was very loyal to his friends.

Kakimoto Chikusa didn't talk much, but was scarily intelligent. He was the first to master basic Japanese once he identified what the new kid was saying. Tsuna couldn't blame him in the least for shutting down his emotions to the point he had a perpetual poker face... he wished desperately he could do something similar.

The last, and strongest of the trio, was Rokudo Mukuro. He was weird. Very, very weird, and his hair looked like a pineapple. He hadn't appreciated the comparison, but he didn't stab Tsuna either. He went for the worst of the experiments, the ones where they forced him to endure what could only be called true hell.

Out of the three of them, he was interested in Tsuna the most.

Tsuna had no idea how long he had been in that horrible place, but his presence provided an odd balm to the souls of the other three. He felt safe around Mukuro-nii and the others, and they felt like things could one day get better with him nearby.

And then came the day everything did change. He would only remember bits and pieces of it, not that he cared to remember any of it.

One moment they were experimenting on him and Ken, the next orange fire erupted from his body. Thick tendrils of it latched onto Ken, who surged from the straps and ripped the throat out of the scientist near him. It didn't take much for him to liberate Tsuna, still burning with that fire.

They reached their cell and freed Chikusa and Mukuro.

More tendrils, though Mukuro had the thickest of them all, latched onto them and Tsuna felt warm. Like he was being hugged by his poor mother... the woman those bastards laughed about killing.

He didn't know what a Vongola was, but he hated them for not protecting them. If they were so important, then why hadn't anyone been there when they really needed them?

"Kufufufu... It's time to leave," said Mukuro firmly.

"What about Tsuna?" asked Ken. Tsuna was too weak to even move, but was still firmly alive...if burning.

Chikusa was the weakest fighter out of all them, and his weapons wouldn't be nearly as much use as Ken's strength or Mukuro's illusions. He easily shouldered the weight of the seven and a half year old... it didn't help Tsuna was so light, and made lighter with the fire on his head. He was practically floating so long as it was lit.

It took surprisingly little time for them to reach the surface... whatever the fire was, it made the other experiments turn on their creators and ignore the group...before they turned on each other and killed themselves.

It wouldn't be for a few years that Tsuna found out exactly _what_ it was that his fire did to them, because it didn't burn his friends. In fact they seemed immune to whatever he was doing to the people around them.

They had tried to reach an unobtainable Sky... and fell into Discord when it completely rejected them, turning them into a two-sided weapon that aided in their escape. Their own Flames turned on them, causing their self destruction.

Needless to say Mukuro was both impressed and worried.

Tsuna's fire didn't dissipate until they were well away from the now ruined labs...they set fire to everything inside that they didn't steal.

He wouldn't wake up for hours, but when he saw the sun he honestly thought he was dreaming. Too bad Ken ruined that illusion with his ugly mug.

"Wake up sleeping beauty! We're free!"

"What!?" squawked Tsuna, looking around wildly, not daring to hope. That was one of the things that had almost died out.

But there was no lab, and there was definitely sun, trees, even the sky.

"How..."

Ken grinned at him, and he felt the warm hand of Mukuro-nii on his head.

"We have you to thank. Whatever that orange fire was, it set the others on a rampage and made the experiments turn on each other. They were too busy trying to stop them to realize we were free enough to kill them all," said Mukuro proudly.

Tsuna blanched, but he had seen so much death and pain that he didn't throw up...barely.

"I thought you said you'd only leave me behind because I'm not as useful as Ken or Chikusa?" said Tsuna.

"I changed my mind. You're definitely useful. You might not have Ken's strength or Chikusa's intelligence...but whatever that orange fire was, it's definitely useful enough. Otherwise it would have been much, much harder than it was getting free," said Mukuro with his dark chuckle.

Mukuro would admit to thinking little Tsuna a liability. He was still too innocent and was more a big ball of fluff than any threat. He would have rescued the brat...if only to keep Ken and Chikusa from getting angry and possibly rebelling against him long enough to see the kid in a better home.

But then he starts sprouting fire that can make his enemies turn their fangs on each other, leaving them perfectly exposed for his trident and his illusions...if they didn't destroy themselves first. Whatever the fluffball was doing, they were completely immune.

Instead they seemed almost _empowered_ as long as they were defending him. His illusions had never been stronger, and his ability came more naturally and with less feedback after being hit with whatever the fire was after Ken broke the lock, carrying the brat on his back.

Tsuna broke down crying, hugging them tightly. Seeing the look on his minion's faces, Mukuro realized there was no way in hell they'd let him get away with simply dumping the fluffball in some home. They were too attached...and if he would admit it to himself, so was he.

"Kufufufu..."

* * *

It was them again. Those mafioso were back.

He was still so pissed off with his old man...why the _hell_ hadn't he warned his mother that he was in the damn mafia, much less set up protection?

The Vongola? Don't make him laugh.

How could he possibly trust a family that couldn't even be bothered to protect their own heir, much less those who depended on them?

Natsu, formerly known as Tsuna Sawada, dodged the attentions of those weaklings with practiced ease.

He didn't know why the Vongola's little Outside group, commonly known as CEDEF, was even looking for someone fitting his old description, but he sure as hell wasn't trusting any mafioso.

Not after what the Esterneo did to his mother, and to his brothers.

"Oi! Natsu! Over here! Check out our haul!" shouted Ken.

Natsu smirked.

"It's good... but check out mine~!" said Natsu grinning.

Ken swore, using a variety of languages. After joining up with Natsu (their self-proclaimed baby brother...which even Mukuro-sama would admit to) they realized that only knowing Italian was a quick way to end up dead if they wanted to ditch the mafia in another country.

So they learned Japanese while teaching Natsu Italian. He must have had some knack for languages or his dad was Italian, because he picked it up very quickly. So much so that he spent most of his time in the public libraries learning other languages. Between him and Chikusa, they could reasonably speak or at least understand five languages other than the two they started with.

"The scraps of the Vongola are back," Natsu warned them.

"Tch. Again? Why do they have such a hard on for you anyway?" asked Ken complaining.

"Who knows. Like I'd trust that weak family," said Natsu dismissively.

"I take it today was a successful venture?" asked Mukuro amused.

Between Ken's fast speed and Natsu's natural aura, they were able to survive on their own. Adults couldn't be trusted, ever.

The first time an adult tried to worm his way into their good graces (or more specifically into Natsu since he looked naturally naive), the smallest of the group had bitten him so hard they learned several new swear words. And then Ken went after him on Mukuro's orders.

That was the day the group learned one thing.

When Natsu's intuition told him something, it was never, ever wrong. Even when it told him to do something he normally wouldn't consider, like taking a certain alley at an exact moment.

They'd evaded more than a few of the less savory familigias by following him. Mukuro might be their "leader", but more often than not it was Natsu who held that position.

It was close to when they were finishing the results of their haul that it happened.

"Ciaossu."

Natsu took one look at the small baby with the lizard on his hat in black...and bolted faster than they had ever seen him.

They didn't need any warnings. If that "kid" made Natsu run like hell in another direction, then clearly he was trouble.

Mukuro managed to stick close to Natsu, and he did _not_ like the fact that the baby was following them specifically.

Damn mafioso were after Natsu again, and this time they sent a threat they definitely couldn't handle.

Mukuro made a decision that would haunt him for a long time...

"Run. Whatever you do, don't stop running. We'll meet up with you once I'm certain the coast is clear of whoever that is."

Natsu looked at him...before something passed between them.

He knew Mukuro had the limited ability to read minds, especially this close. He trusted his big brother.

Mukuro leveled so many illusions around himself, that the fake baby didn't even realize he had passed right by Natsu.

One of the things Natsu had shared with his brothers was his old home address. It was one thing he refused to give up, no matter what was done to him.

Even if he could never go back there without experiencing the terror and pain of the scene he had walked into.

The agreement was that if anything happened and they got split up, that they meet up in Namimori in one year. More than enough time to alter their appearance and make it there.

Once assured that the fake baby wasn't anywhere near, Natsu immediately changed his appearance with the ease of long, long practice. His hair was dyed a red color, his skin was darkened using some plants he found, and his clothes were burned up so they couldn't get his scent.

He was gone before the "baby" known as Reborn realized he had been thoroughly tricked enough to backtrack.

* * *

Natsu was trying to sleep on a tree branch when he felt something land on it. Within an instant he woke up, saw red and tried to jump to another tree and get down so he could run like hell.

Tried being the operative word. His hand slipped and he almost fell flat on his ass...had something not grabbed his belt at the last second.

" _Easy, little Sky. I mean no harm."_

He slowly got back onto the tree, before looking down.

Unlike the first baby with the yellow pacifier, this one didn't set his instincts off to run like hell and not look back.

Oh, there was an undercurrent of "danger" and "beware", but it wasn't nearly as overpowering as the first one.

" _I was trying to sleep. Stupid mafioso keep tracking me down if I use the caves,"_ grumbled Natsu in the same tongue.

The red baby blinked, before a serene smile came upon his face. He was clearly surprised and pleased Natsu knew how to speak Chinese that well.

" _Your Flames are leaking rather strongly, which is likely what lead them to you,"_ he informed the boy.

" _Who are you?"_

" _My name is Fon. I was sent to find out why so many of the loose Elements had suddenly taken to trespassing on my clan's land of late, since it was irritating the Elders."_

Natsu felt a little guilty about that.

" _Sorry. I was just trying to find a place to sleep until I gathered enough food to keep going."_

" _What are you running from, little Sky?"_

If there was one thing that set off the protective instincts of an Element, especially one like Fon, it was the knowledge of a younger Flame in danger. That went almost triple if the Flame was a Sky...and from what he could tell unattached.

No Familigia would be stupid enough to let a Sky this young and strong out of their sight for an instant without tracking them down. They were too valuable, and far too rare to waste such a precious Flame.

Natsu didn't know why, but he felt he could trust this person. So he gave him an abridged version of why he was alone.

Fon was silent and let the child speak his piece.

From what he understood, the boy had been targeted deliberately by the Esterneo and lost his mother in the process. During his escape he harmonized with three other boys, one of them likely his Mist Guardian, but was separated when Reborn showed up...not that he could blame the kid for running away from the Sun Arcobaleno. Considering what he had already gone through with the Esterneo familigia, he wasn't surprised the kid's instincts told him to get as far away from Reborn as possible.

The man would have likely handed him over to the Vongola at the very least, considering he was rather close with them. Or one of the Allied familigias.

While they would have treated the boy like a prince, the fact they had recently lost their heir made the entire situation too volatile. Especially since there was a rumor that the head of CEDEF had recently lost his son...they might very well toss the child with them to shut the idiot up.

Fon patted Natsu on the head. It was clear he hadn't had an easy life since the mafia crashed into it.

Besides... he wasn't always with the Mafia either.

" _You should become a Hunter."_

Hunters were unaffiliated with any of the Familigias, and couldn't be "forcibly recruited" even if they were a Sky. The Association would come down on any Familigia that tried it like the wrath of the gods themselves.

The agreement came down to the simple fact that as long as the Mafia didn't force any hunters to join their ranks, the hunters would ignore their crimes and everything to do with their world unless they did something so stupid it brought the attention of the police down on them.

Like breaking Omerta.

Then it was merely a question of who would slap down the idiots first... the Association or the Vindice.

You could be both, of course...there was nothing that said a Hunter couldn't be a mafioso. However the requirements to become one were much higher than any other job in the world so most didn't bother.

" _A Hunter?"_

Fon took out something that had the boy relax around him completely. It was his Single-Star Hunter's license... one he got after finding obscure martial arts and sharing them with others. He was a finder of the old ways and he didn't mind taking on students.

Besides, it enforced his status as a "Neutral" enforcer inside the Triads.

Fon nodded.

 _"As a Hunter you can tell any Familigias trying to recruit you to back off, and they have to respect that or the Association will come after them. Or worse, the Vindice for not honoring the agreement. Not even the Vongola can force a Sky to join them if they have a Hunter's License. However, becoming a Hunter isn't easy. At the very least you have to have some very impressive stamina to get through the exams."_

Seeing he had the boy's full interest, Fon smirked.

Here was a good way to annoy the hell out of Reborn and kill time. The Triads would leave him alone for a while if he said he was training a possible Hunter candidate, which meant free vacation.

" _I could train you to become a Hunter... the age limit is eleven, but I think I can get you up to standards before then."_

" _Is there any way to let my brothers know what I'm doing? Otherwise they'll worry when I don't show up."_

Fon smiled.

" _I can hunt them down and deliver a message."_

It couldn't be that hard to find three boys, and he did hear one of the smaller familigias had taken in a _bonded_ trio recently.

Needless to say they were pretty damn eager to find the obvious fourth, because all of them showed signs of having an Active Sky.


	7. The Devil You Know Chapter One

There wasn't a day that went by that Sirzechs didn't curse the blessed marriage contract between his sister and that idiot Raiser from the Phenex clan. He could get that there weren't many pure blooded devils left, but that didn't mean he wanted them to try and use his baby sister to bring the numbers back up!

Honestly, they could have picked someone better than that glorified moron Raiser! The idiot was gathering a damn harem and couldn't keep his hands off them, for Maou's sake!

Sirzechs sighed, rather than continue fuming. At this point it was going to take a freaking miracle to save his sister from having to marry that bastard.

As if God was still alive and heard the prayer of Lucifer for help, he stumbled across a kid who looked way too familiar, despite never having met him.

As in he had seen that face and hair before, but in different proportions and with someone he knew was allied to the Gremory clan, though not as frequently of late.

If that kid wasn't a descendant of Giotto Vongola, he'd bat for the other team or cheat on his wife with her in full view.

So in the interest of observing the kid to see if he was anywhere near as charismatic as that blessed Giotto was, he discreetly followed him.

And what he saw had him frowning.

The kid was overly clumsy, harassed by almost the entire school, and not very bright.

Now normally this wouldn't get his attention, except he could feel something trying to surge in the kid's body, but couldn't. Like there was something _deliberately_ holding him back from his full potential.

Sirzechs watched the kid (Tsuna, according to the others around him) and an idea slowly formed. One that was risky as heaven, but could reap rewards for a long time. Best of all, it was a possible solution to getting Rias out of her contract without losing too much face.

The only question would be if the kid or his guardian went for it.

* * *

Nana Sawada looked at the man in her home with an odd expression on her face. Gone was the ditzy, oblivious woman who welcomed everyone with a smile and in it's place was a confused and wary Fallen.

"Let me get this straight. You want to make an agreement with _my_ son and marry your sister off to him in the process. Why?"

Sirzechs kept his most charming smile on his face, though inwardly he was cursing. He didn't expect the kid to be half Fallen!

"My father foolishly promised my sister's hand in marriage when she was a toddler to another pure blood clan of great prestige. However the Devil in question is an arrogant prick who has little to no respect for women and is a lecherous brat to boot. Because of my position, I am unable to help her directly, or it would only blow up in my face politically. However... from what I can tell your son is a direct descendant of a man our family helped several centuries ago, and still owe a great favor to for their aid in a few delicate matters."

Nana narrowed her eyes at him.

"What would he get in return?"

"I can remove the seal on him. At least I hope it's a seal, because there's no other explanation for why he felt like his body was straining to let something out and causing his current behavior. And from what I can tell he won't treat Rias like some sort of commodity and would show her more respect than Raiser ever would."

"And you said your family helped my husband's some time in the past."

"Enough that I could claim I'm ending a long standing debt between us by marrying my sister to the family. The fact he's half Fallen makes it easier actually... my sister's Queen is half Fallen and she could help train him."

Nana thought it over. On one hand, she would essentially ruining her son's chances of ever living a human life, and bringing him to the attention of some very scary individuals.

On the other hand, he was never going to be normal, not with her blood in his veins, and she was still beyond pissed Iemitsu sealed his full powers away without even telling her anything. More than that, the idiot didn't even have the balls to tell her he was involved with the mafia, with one of the major families! And from the sounds of it, Sirzechs Lucifer was more than happy to train her son in how to reach his full potential in exchange for helping him save his little sister.

"I would like to meet the girl and her Queen first, before I agree to this."

"That can be arranged. Once Rias hears what this is about, she'll jump at the chance to be rid of Raiser."

"That bad?"

"You have no idea," grimaced Sirzechs. He'd sooner hand his sister over the son of an unknown Fallen who had been hiding for who knew how long than ever consider the idea of letting Raiser get his hands on her.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

Tsuna didn't know what this was about, just that his mama was expecting some important visitors today. The ten year old was understandably nervous about the whole thing.

And then they arrived. A man with really long red hair and two girls about his age, if not a year older. The first girl looked like a younger, female version of the man and the other girl felt like a shrine maiden... and yet he felt a weird kinship with her.

"Right on time! Lunch is ready!" chirped his mother.

It was weird, but there was some strange look that the red haired girl was giving him, almost like hope. But why would she look at him with that sort of expression?

The man was nice, if a bit weird. While he brought out some of his video games to share with the girls, the trio relaxed a bit. He wasn't a big fan of the overly violent games, but he did like the games that let multiple people play at one time against each other, or as a team.

The one he brought out was a dungeon-crawler of sorts, and the children were soon amicably arguing over which route to take and who would lead.

Nana and Sirzechs watched them play, and something between them relaxed.

The children were getting along rather well, despite the secret being hidden from the lone male of the group.

Nana wanted to cry. Because of her idiot husband, she had never seen her son this alive since he was a little boy. He didn't have any friends, because the older children were always harassing him and he had no way to defend himself properly.

"I'll agree to your request, but only if you get his agreement as well," she said quietly.

Sirzechs sat Tsuna down a few hours later, while Rias and Akeno were getting cooking lessons from Nana, who seemed to take them on as surrogate daughters with enthusiasm. Seeing his sister and her Queen respond to her like a second mother made him smile.

"You wanted to talk to me sir?"

He looked at the timid little boy in front of him.

"Tell me, Tsuna-kun... do you like spending time around Rias and Akeno-chan?"

Tsuna nodded.

"They're really nice, and they don't mind if I make little mistakes!"

"Would you like to spend more time with them?" asked Sirzechs.

"I can?"

"I have been talking with your mother, and she agreed it would be alright if you and Rias spent more time together, including her friends. Though she won't be going to your school, you can still visit her on holidays and weekends."

He'd explain about the marriage contract when he was old enough to appreciate it. Or until something happened and they had to put him through an accelerated training program to fight off Raiser.

Seeing the bright spark of hope in the kid's eyes, Sirzechs pulled out the big guns.

"Tell me, do you have any idea why you have such trouble at school or act so clumsy?"

Tsuna shook his head, in shame.

"Well I might have an idea of how to fix that, but I would need your permission first. It would go hand in hand to spending a lot more time with Rias on her free days from school, and I'm sure she'd love being friends with you."

"Really?" said Tsuna, hopefully.

He hated manipulating the kid, but he'd thank him in a few short years once he found out the truth. At least they wouldn't have to hide anything from each other, like they would have if they married humans. Though he would have to get a crash course explanation.

Preferably from his mother.

Before they left the home (with the girls quickly agreeing to stay silent about Tsuna and a new contract to break the one with Raiser until he had things finalized) Sirzechs used a bit of his magic to break the seal on Tsuna.

The kid would be bedridden for a week, but there was a marked difference in how he behaved and reacted to things when Sirzechs brought his sister and Akeno over.

He didn't act like a skittish kitten anymore, and there was an internal fire that had been missing in his eyes.

What in the Maou's name would have possessed the Vongola to _seal_ an Active Sky, especially one that powerful? It made absolutely no sense.

* * *

 _One year later, Tsuna Age 11_

Finding out about the supernatural world had come as a shock, but not as bad as seeing his mother with four black wings.

Or worse, learning the source of why his classmates called him Dame-Tsuna for years was because his dad put a seal on his powers after he awakened them without even consulting his mother.

He wasn't allowed to use any of them quite yet, because his mama wanted to wait and make sure they settled back into their proper place before she trained him, but that was a small price to pay.

But the biggest change came when he was properly introduced to Rias, Akeno and her friends.

So far he had met a half-vampire named Gasper (the two hit it off, since Tsuna knew far too well what it was like to be bullied, and the boy practically latched on to him) and a girl name Koneko, who only warmed up when he brought out the cookies he helped his mama bake for the meeting.

He honestly didn't have a problem with them being devils. They were leagues nicer to him than most of the people in his own age group.

And they didn't bring up the fact that he actually fainted when Sirzechs (Rias' older brother) finally told him the truth about the 'spending a lot of time with Rias' bit he mentioned.

The short and simple of it was that he was expected to marry Rias when she turned eighteen, which was the age she originally agreed to when she found out about the contract from her parents. She really, really didn't want anything to do with this Phenex guy, and after seeing even a fragment of how he behaved around his Evil Pieces (Sirzechs helpfully explained those to him) Tsuna couldn't blame her.

Of course the contract would be kept silent, at least until it was blown open when the date came up. Or someone stumbled across it and leaked the news.

Until then, Akeno and Tsuna would train under Nana, and Rias would continue to collect more Pieces for the inevitable confrontation. With any luck, Tsuna would have collected several Guardians to act as replacements for his side.

To be honest, he didn't actually mind the whole marriage thing, even if he had been tricked into it. Rias was nice, her peerage were friendly if a bit leery of allowing this piece of hope to cloud their judgment, and it wasn't like he had any prospects now that he knew the truth about his mother.

He couldn't possibly drag some poor human into this world by marrying them. At least Rias had been born into this madness, and could hold her own.

Today though, he had a weird feeling something annoying was about to happen.

And that feeling panned out when he came home, saw the clothes on the line and the sake bottles out, with an idiot sleeping in the living room.

He went completely poker faced, walked out and looked for his mother.

"Mama, can I stay with Rias until that weird bum on the couch leaves?"

Or until she chased him out?

Nana's eyes glinted with something that would have made a normal man run like hell in the other direction.

"Of course you can sweetie. Be sure to act like a gentleman around them, okay?"

Tsuna nodded, grabbed his things and used the teleport spell Sirzechs gave him on an amulet to transport himself to Rias' clubhouse.

Officially it was the Occult Research Club. Unofficially it was where Rias stayed while attending human school.

She looked up from where she was playing chess with her friend Sona and blinked.

"Tsuna?"

"Mind if I crash here for a while?" he asked hopefully.

Rias smirked at him.

"Only if you agree to help Akeno train later."

"Deal."

"Rias, who is this?" asked Sona.

"This is Tsuna Sawada, of the Vongola Familigia in Italy. Our families owe his a few favors, so my brother's working out something appropriately big to repay them to clear up the debt," said Rias.

All true, without letting it slip that there was a possibility she could escape Raiser later through him.

"Tsuna, this is Sona Sitri, younger sister of the current Leviathan, and head of the student council here at Kuoh," said Rias.

Tsuna dusted himself off before giving a polite Japanese bow to Sona.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said formally.

Sona blinked, before a light blush appeared on her face. He was entirely sincere, yet at the same time held a great wealth of hidden power and potential hidden behind his petite form. And compared to the other male students at the school, acted more like a friend than someone only interested in her for other reasons.

She was going to hate puberty, she just knew it.

"So is Nana still open to teaching Akeno...?"

"She said we were going to get started this week, but since I found that weird bum on the couch I think it'll be postponed until he's gone for sure," said Tsuna. "And you know she doesn't mind if you call her Mama too."

Rias blushed.

"Well you have good timing. We were planning to hit the Familiar Forest in a few days."

Rias had yet to acquire her familiar, and Akeno had earned the right. Koneko and Gasper would have to grow a bit as Devils before they were allowed to go, but she was reasonably sure Tsuna would be allowed so long as he kept with the two younger ones.

* * *

 _In the Familiar Forest..._

Tsuna looked around with interest. He didn't really mind that Gasper was holding onto his arm rather tightly, or that Koneko had a bored expression on her face.

"This place is scary," said Gasper.

"Compared to facing a horde of bullies after you and no adults present?" said Tsuna.

Gasper blinked.

"Well, when you compare it to that, it is lacking," admitted Gasper.

"I have some video games, if you want to play later," said Tsuna. Gasper brightened and lost some of his scared edge.

Rias smiled. Tsuna was a good influence on the half-vampire, almost like a big brother. Even Koneko liked him.

For the most part, it was a pretty standard hunt. Rias found an adorable bat that could turn into a human, and Akeno got herself a baby oni.

Of course she really should have kept an eye on the younger trio, because she ended up finding them trying to coax Koneko out of a field of demonic catnip, where several cats of varying sizes were rolling around.

She seemed to be having an intense staring contest with an adorable kitten, while a rather decently sized Nekomata seemed to have adopted Tsuna.

Rias tried very hard not to laugh, and Akeno was taking multiple blackmail pictures.

"Alright you two, we have to leave now."

Koneko had the most adorable pout, and the nekomata mewled in protest from where it was nuzzling Tsuna. It was giving her the most pitiful kitten eyes she had ever seen.

Rias giggled.

"I doubt your mother would let you keep a cat that big in your house, Tsuna," said Rias gently.

The cat clearly understood her, because there was a bright ball of fire before it turned into a more cuddly size, though it still had two tails.

"Mew~!"

It jumped into Tsuna's arms without hesitation and gave him an expectant look.

"I think I'll call you Kirara. Because you look a lot like the two-tailed cat from that manga series I've been reading."

"Neko-chan," declared Koneko firmly, the kitten now on her head.

"You can make him your official familiar when you get a bit stronger. Until then he's your pet, got it?" said Rias. Koneko nodded solemnly, careful not to dislodge the cat. "And you are so explaining to Mama why you now have a cat."

Tsuna beamed at her, and Kirara mewled happily from his arms.


	8. If You Only Knew Chapter One

The first time he saw her, he thought she was an angel sent from heaven. Something that made his fellow trainees laugh, until they realized he was dead serious.

Especially after a week of the Commander's "Special Training Session", aka the Week From Hell for everyone.

Lal Mirch was a no nonsense woman who didn't accept back talk or whining, but when they actually did something right she was equally quick to praise them. And they could tell it was _real_ praise.

She was a total hard ass, according to the others, but there was something about her that made it hard for them to complain too much. Sure, she didn't accept excuses unless they were damn good ones, but unlike the other instructors when she asked for your best, it was because she genuinely believed you were capable of it.

And when she smiled... dear god that smile alone would have made him work twice as hard just to see it again.

Most of his fellow trainees had long since lost their crush on their rather hot instructor beaten out of them. Lal Mirch was too professional to allow a brief fling ruin her career and theirs, and was far too pleased to make sure they damn well knew it.

In the end, only Colonello lasted an entire month with her and opted to stay under her command, rather than transfer out the first chance he had.

Most of his fellow trainees had jumped ship the second they could, because Lal Mirch was one of the hardest instructors on base. If you survived her you could survive damn near anything thrown at you. Or at least have a damn good reason not to screw up, because she would be on you like white on rice.

Her slaps _hurt_ , but they were full of love, as she almost joked.

It was debatable whether the woman even _had_ a sense of humor under that prickly exterior.

* * *

"So this is the trainee who survived and decided to stick with it? Got some balls on him, or perhaps he's too stupid to pick a new instructor," joked Greg. He was another instructor.

As the lone student under Lal Mirch's _personal_ supervision, Colonello was being given the rare opportunity to join in on a training exercise he would normally have to wait a few years for. It was something the higher ups did to keep their own skills sharp. That and to get away from the whiny "brats" that had just started.

Colonello grinned at the man, his very posture loose, but still respectful.

He didn't complain once as he hauled most of the tents (he was the rookie, after all) up the mountain. At least Lal let him take a few minutes to recover with some water.

It wasn't until nightfall that they ran into a snag.

Namely that the only tent with enough room to house the _extra_... was Lal Mirch.

Colonello wondered why the older instructors suddenly looked rather panicked. It wasn't like he'd take advantage of her, after all.

Finally Greg put one arm around Colonello and told him with a dead serious expression.

"Son, I'm only going to tell you this once. There's no shame in sleeping outside."

Colonello eyes the clouds above, which looked like rain.

"I think I'll take my chances," he said jovially.

He didn't realize what the actual problem was until around three in the morning, when the storm outside was raging quite loudly. No way in hell was he sleeping outside in that!

He noticed Lal was sitting up, eyes unfocused and perfectly still. At first he thought she was awake for some reason, until he saw it. With a crack of lightning, there was the unmistakable movement of her trying to gut someone with a knife she didn't have. There was a silent snarl, and suddenly he had an epiphany of why the older man told him there was no shame in sleeping outside with this weather.

Lal had PTSD. A severe case of it, from what he could tell. She couldn't tell friend from foe and would attack anything that got in her way.

He heard rumors that some days she became as territorial and vicious as an enraged Cloud, but he had no idea this was what they meant.

Colonello wasn't stupid. If he got near her in this state, she was sure to attack him without even realizing it. However there was so much pain on her face that there was no way he could just leave her like this.

So with slow, exaggerated movements, he cautiously got out of his sleeping bag. He made sure Lal saw what he was about to do and was slow enough that not even her trapped mind would register him as a threat. Once he was close enough, h wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

Lal snarled... and struggled a bit inside his arms. He didn't let go, and he gradually released his hold on his Flames. It was part of the reason he had been recommended to COMSUBIN in the first place.

There was a brief moment when Lal started to really panic, and he frowned. Rain Flames were supposed to bring tranquility, which calmed people down.

Yet the way she reacted, it was as if he was attacking her.

He let go of his Flames and just held her tight. The rain began to let up, and when it did he noticed she was starting to relax in his arms. Colonello made sure to keep a loose grip around her. She could easily escape, but at the same time he was comforting her.

There was a choked sob, and she almost started crying. Colonello didn't let up, but he felt relief when she slowly fell back asleep. He didn't crawl back into his own sleeping bag until he was sure she wouldn't fall back into another episode. It felt nice, holding her in his arms.

By morning, she wasn't the only one exhausted. So was he.

"I take it she had another episode?" asked Greg tiredly.

Colonello stared at him.

"You knew?"

"Of course we knew! Trying to keep our skills sharp is just the excuse we give the rookies and the idiots not in the know! It's easier to take her out here where she can break down in peace around people who understand than to scare the rookies off," said Greg offended.

Well, that made a lot more sense than having a mini vacation.

"Why haven't the higher ups treated it?"

"We've _tried_. She refuses to become dependent on medication and despite her episodes it doesn't actually hinder her professional life. It just makes her beyond a nightmare to deal with. Honestly, we were more surprised that she never had an episode during those times of the month," said Greg irritably.

"So how do they last?"

"She didn't attack you did she?"

He was quick to shake his head.

"Any idea why she freaked out over Flames?"

Greg winced. He knew the guy was a Rain, but using Flames when she was in the middle of an episode was damn near suicide... especially when it involved flaring.

According to her medical records, she had heavy flame scars on her soul. None but the most hardened Suns could go near her with their Flames because the sheer amount of damage done to her soul was so bad it made them violently ill. And that was _before_ her aversion to healing kicked in.

Honestly it was easier for everyone involved to bring her out of the training grounds to get her Cloud instincts out in a safe setting with trained professionals. PTSD in a Flame User, especially someone who had such a strong Cloud secondary was serious.

Clouds were bad enough on a good day. Adding in such stress was a recipe for nothing but a monumental disaster.

Lal looked rather... confused, to say the least. Like she _knew_ she had an episode, but for some reason wasn't feeling the way she usually did about it.

"Good sleep?"

"Hardly, that damn lightning woke me up."

The next night was the same, except this time Colonello came prepared. He was a little bit closer to his teacher when she jolted up. Once again, he slowly made his way to her side of the tent, and made sure she saw him when he wrapped his arms around her.

He felt her tense, but this time she didn't try to fight him like before. Then again he didn't make the mistake of using his Flames this time.

He just sat there, letting her get used to his arms around her, holding her tight.

Her breathing patterns evened out after half an hour, and she slowly started to nod back off to real sleep. Her head bumped into his chest, and he heard the softest snore.

It was nice, holding the "demon instructor" in his arms like this. He doubted anyone else had the brains to think of just holding her when she had an episode.

The other instructors had a good idea, getting her away from all those active Flames, but they didn't try to cut off her pain at the source. Her nightmares.

By morning Colonello could tell Lal was actually _rested_ for once.

Greg was eyeing her oddly, and by extension him.

"Okay, I'll bite. How the hell did you cut it off?" asked Greg baffled. By this point Lal Mirch was usually undergoing some nasty Cloud tendencies and driving her friends and colleagues up the wall.

This time though, she seemed only slightly exhausted, but not biting their heads off.

"Uh, cut what off?"

"Don't play coy with me. She's _always_ in fight or die mode by this point. There's a reason we schedule our outings around her panic attacks."

Colonello looked very sheepish.

"I hugged her."

"You... hugged her."

"Yeah, I made sure she saw what I was doing and just held her while she started panicking. Once she realized I was a new element it seemed to help," said Colonello helplessly.

"Son of a bitch! Why didn't we think of that?!" said Greg annoyed. Seriously, how did they not think of that?

"Considering you did admit that you sparred with her during her episodes, she might not react well to you."

Lal was one hell of a strong woman, and he didn't think she'd be this traumatized by anything short of being in a war. It certainly explained why she went in the military... she probably hoped being around other soldiers would make it easier, or at least keep people from asking about her habits.

The fact she let him get that close and didn't really fight him when he held her through the nightmares was a good sign. It meant she didn't register him as a threat, though she would definitely be pissed if she realized what he was doing while awake.

By the end of the week, it had become very clear that Colonello was either the bravest man on the planet, getting near the demon trainer when she was having an episode when she wasn't awake enough to register who was holding her, or he was some sort of idiot savant.

At least he figured out that if he increased his Flames by small increments, instead of a steady rise, that Lal wouldn't react so badly to being around them. She knew how to use her Flames, but she didn't like being around anyone who was active. At all.

* * *

"You're a hundred years too early to pick me up!" said Lal irate.

It had been almost two months since she had a panic attack, and she was edgy. She didn't like it when her routine got disrupted, especially something as dangerous as one of her episodes.

And yes, she knew perfectly well why they went to the mountains ever couple of months and it had nothing to do with _training_. It was pretty damn obvious when her presence at the hike was made mandatory by the higher ups.

She was a good soldier, a damn good trainer and she was above all a professional. Three things that any military would love.

If not for that minor incident when that idiot flared near her and revealed her PTSD, she might have been promoted even further. Instead she was stuck as a trainer, not that she cared.

She had found her place after her hellish childhood, and she liked where she was now. This was her home.

Colonello merely laughed off the slap to the head. He was the only one brave (read: suicidal to everyone else) enough to remain under her personal supervision, when any other soldier would have transferred out.

And he never hid his interest in her, far from it. The cheesy pick up lines were beyond ridiculous, and the less said about his flirting the better.

Then again he was the only human on the base who consistently kept bothering her about dates, when most gave up after a few months of her "winning" personality.

Generally speaking people didn't like having to wade through god knows how many thorns just to make a connection with someone.

"Get slapped again, Colonello?" laughed his fellow trainees. Colonello didn't even bat an eye.

"Aw, you know she loves me!" he laughed back. Which only set Lal off.

Not that he minded. He could tell she was instinctively pulling her punches so that while he might end up a little bruises, she wouldn't seriously hurt him. His ego would take a hit, but underneath her prickly exterior she was a total softy who loved her students.

After all he had seen her punch a concrete block into powder once with her Cloud flames. If she really wanted to hurt him she'd kick his ass and he'd be unable to stop it.

Besides... he could see past the veil of raven black (almost dark blue with the way the sun hit it) hair to see her monumental blush. She was so cute when she was embarrassed.

"Oi! Dumbass! She done beating you yet! We have an assignment for you!" shouted Greg.

Lal kicked him in the ass to the older man's direction, then went off to torture...er, _train_ some of the stronger rookies.

Seeing grown men cry at the mere sight of her being annoyed was great. It made her wonder how her old potions teacher would have reacted if he could see her now.

Snape wouldn't know what hit him, and she barely refrained from her more evil cackling.

She'd save it for when she brought out the robotic bees. Expensive as hell to buy, but just as good as the real thing without the irritation of a potential lawsuit from allergic reactions.

Ah, the sound of grown men screaming in fear of her was music to her ears...


	9. Tale as Old as Time Chapter One

**Beauty and the Beast themed story with a twist. Blame the fact I couldn't get the song out of my head for the title.**

* * *

Black eyes stared down at the arrogant brat that was his grandson. Fon sighed in exasperation. Without anyone his own age to challenge him, Kyouya's heart had grown hard and cold. He barely acknowledged the need to protect his people, much less his staff.

There was no way Fon was getting through to him. Kyouya only saw him as a threat, someone he had to beat in order to become stronger. He would never listen.

Which meant drastic measures would have to be taken, if only for the sake of his sanity.

He went to the small nearby village and found an old colleague of his. Viper was an excellent enchanter (because no one wanted to piss them off if they got the gender wrong, so they just called them an Enchanter), and they could lay some long term curses without any ill side effects.

Paying them was like cutting off his own arm, but hopefully it would force his bratty grandson to think about more than just himself.

Kyouya was beyond angry, at first. Being cursed to bear the ears, tail and claws of a large cat would make anyone angry. The staff in the castle were hit as well, if only because Viper wasn't stupid enough to place such a curse on Kyouya so close.

However he grew to accept his new appearance, even if he tried to gut his grandfather for doing this to him as a lesson.

Fon could never have anticipated how far reaching the consequences of that "lesson" would be...

* * *

Tsunahime was not a very well liked girl. Far from it.

Her mother died when she was little, her father came home so rarely he didn't even register as her father, and she was so clumsy that no one would hire her.

Almost no one.

"Master Verde, I have the groceries and your coffee," she said quietly. He didn't like loud, annoying people. And she had learned a long time ago that the more vocal she was around others, the higher the chances were her bullies would come after her.

Verde waved her off, deep in one of his many, many strange projects.

He was considered highly eccentric because he wanted to get the kingdoms to move away from magically based devices to something he called "electricity". Considering the cost of his research, none had been willing to take him up on the idea.

Only one place had been even willing to allow him to test out his experiments, but she was never allowed to join him. There was a dreadful curse on the place that only Master Verde and a few others were safe from. And he was always gone for at least a week.

Tsuna went about making dinner. It was just her and Master Verde, the only one who was willing to give her a job. She was his quiet assistant, keeping his lab clean, and made sure he was fed and that the got enough sleep.

Within an hour she had supper ready and walked with slow, deliberate steps. She found if she took her time, she didn't trip as much.

Verde only looked up when he smelled it, but the slight smile on his face made her smile back. He gently patted her on the head, which was as much praise as he ever gave.

She had been laughed and belittled so often by the villagers she was always expecting more of it from total strangers. Gentle shows of appreciation like a pat on the head or a hug meant more to her than flowery words of praise.

The two of them spent the night as they always did. With the peaceful moments of their own little tasks.

 _The next evening..._

Tsuna was walking home when she passed by the pub. She never went in there, for many reasons. Chief among them was the man inside, laughing as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Iemitsu Sawada was the personal investigator of the king, who lived some distance away and was never seen.

Supposedly he was Tsuna's father, but she never believed it. If anyone had that claim on her, it was Master Verde who despite being somewhat distant was at least there for her.

She still remembered the day she was told rather coldly by that man her mother was dead and that she would never see her again. There wasn't a shred of empathy or emotion in his eyes. They were as cold and dead as a doll, as if he had no soul.

The house she had lived in with her mother was empty. She had long since moved into Verde's lab, since it was easier. She didn't feel so lonely, even if he wasn't the most personable of people.

He still stayed by her side the nights when her pain was the worst. She would always wake up and see his strange cloak as he fiddled with some random object. Not near her, because he didn't really connect with others... but close enough that she knew he was there.

Seeing him in that tavern always made her blood boil, as if some raging fire demanded she remove him from her life once and for all.

She kept walking, picking up some bread on the way. Sandwiches were simple, and were safe enough that even Verde could manage them when she wasn't there.

But he was very particular about the bread he ate, hence why they ran out of it so often.

"Yo, Tsu-chan!"

Tsuna turned and smiled.

She knew that voice.

The friendly blond soldier who guarded the way between the village and some old paths that lead to the capital walked up to her. It must be one of his days off from patrolling, since he always ended up with that post.

"Hello Colonello," she said politely.

His smile brightened a bit. He was one of the few who knew her mother had worked in the kitchens of the old castle that lay deep in the woods. No one went there since the curse, but he always made a point to see her on his day off.

Tsuna's smile became a little warmer when he ruffled her hair. He was like the older brother she always wanted, but never had. And one of the few in the village who didn't laugh or mock her for being clumsy.

"Shopping for that old fusspot Verde again? You spoil him," joked Colonello.

Tsuna said nothing. Unlike when the villagers mocked Verde, she knew Colonello only meant it in friendly banter. He was, after all, one of the Elite. The pendant around his neck signified he was one of the Strongest in the Kingdom, a member of the Arcobaleno.

Not that anyone really knew that. Everyone else only saw him as the idiot soldier who was always trying to get a date with the Captain of the King's personal Guard. Lal Mirch was strict, but fair.

She was still annoyed Colonello had beaten her for one of the posts in the Elite.

"Come one, come all! The great Skull-sama will give you all a show!" boasted a man with purple hair and purple eyes.

Tsuna giggled. She loved watching Skull, he was entertaining.

The two of them went to watch the fire-dancer at his work. He might boast a lot when it came to his fighting skills, but when it came to entertaining the masses no one doubted his ability.

"Give us a show, Skull-sama!" she shouted as loudly as she dared.

Over the minor din, it went almost unnoticed but the man spotted her in a heart beat (or more likely he just saw Colonello) and gave her a broad wink and a smile.

Colonello had his arm around her shoulders protectively as Skull did his act, and the two stayed as long as they could. He looked so alive as he danced among the purple-colored fire, and so happy. She clapped as much as she could when it was over.

He made sure to wave in her direction before he went to collect his tribute from those closer.

Skull was someone who understood her pain very well. He was often mocked as the "weakest" Arcobaleno, but he never gave in. He gave her a small piece of courage, watching him get up every day even when people kicked him down.

Colonello made sure she was able to finish her shopping in peace, and walked her home. Mostly because he knew if he did she would feed him, even if she didn't allow alcohol in the home.

She saw that man drunk enough that any desire to try it died.

"WHERE'S MY COFFEE!"

Tsuna smiled, and lightly giggled. She quickly made a pot and brought Verde a fresh cup. His grumbling died down a little as it kicked in, and he noticed the time.

He didn't even have to ask. She only ever stayed out this late to watch Skull or visit with Colonello. And seeing the blond man sipping his own cup at the table, he rolled his eyes.

"Feed me!" groaned Colonello with a pitiful sound. Tsuna smiled and went to work at the stove.

"How are the roads?" asked Verde grumpy.

Colonello didn't miss a beat. The two of them fell into an easy talk about something she never asked about. It was obviously very hush-hush.

"The roads are fine. No real change, sadly. Though a cat was seen nearby," said Colonello.

Verde shot a brief glance at the back of Tsuna, and held in a sigh. The poor girl had no idea, and they weren't about to tell her. It wasn't like she could change anything. It might only bring her more heartbreak.

The two chatted, saying nothing of interest really. Except when Tsuna was sound asleep with the door closed, Colonello disappeared for a bit...and came back with someone.

"How is she?"

"She's surviving. That idiot husband of yours never even bothers to acknowledge she exist these days," sighed Verde.

The woman under the cloak briefly looked into Tsuna's room, and barely held in her tears.

How she wished she could go in there and hug the girl senseless. To make up for all the years they lost because of the stupidity of the villagers.

Sadly it wasn't meant to be. That man had made it very clear she was never to see Tsuna again. All because of something she had no control over.

"I know it's pointless to ask, but isn't there any way you could convince him to allow her to stay? This village isn't doing her any favors and it's taking everything we have to keep her smile alive."

"You know as well as I do that the curse is still active. If she stays there too long, she will be affected to and lose her chance..."

Verde sighed.

"I will keep her safe. We all will," said Verde.

"Thank you. For everything," said the woman.

She was safer here than she was with that idiot she married.

The woman put the cloak back on, hiding her head. She went outside and was promptly hidden by Viper and Colonello.

Neither spoke of the unshed tears in her eyes, or the fact that she couldn't stay, despite how badly she wanted to.

* * *

"I'll only be gone a week this time. I need to restock my supplies since those idiots wasted what I gave them."

And by idiots he meant the "local guards", who were little more than villagers who had to keep the peace while the royal guards were busy. They were the ones more likely to cause said trouble when the royal guard was around, but it was a good place to dump sons with nothing better to do.

Verde was paid to keep them with their required supply of magic bullets, but the fools kept wasting them every couple of months. Which only made Verde irritable, because it took time he could spend with his experiments.

That, and the fact they were one of the worst offenders of harassing her. It wasn't like anyone would bother to stop them... her mother was gone and her father didn't even acknowledge she existed when passing on the street. And no one cared what Verde thought outside of the shop.

Tsuna smiled sadly.

"Be safe, Master Verde."

"I'm always safe," said Verde, though his tone was much softer. He gave her an awkward hug, considering he wasn't one who did it often. It was more that he just put his arms around her and let her hug him while he awkwardly patted her back. He got onto the carriage and let out a light click, getting the horses to move.

Tsuna watched as long as she could, before she sighed.

Colonello was in the middle of his post, Skull was entertaining another village, Viper wasn't really much for conversation unless you paid them ridiculous sums of money, and Lal was more likely to bark at her than anything else if she tried to visit.

She hated it when Verde had to go away. It was so lonely.

Tsuna went inside, and went back to her usual work of tidying things up. She was completely unaware of the coal black eyes observing her from the shadows of the roof.

She was never really alone when Verde had to leave on his trips. But the silent observer was under strict orders not to speak or come near her. It would draw too much attention and far too many questions that shouldn't be answered.

It wasn't like anything was going to happen. Nothing ever did.

Reborn was awoken from his silent post as her watcher by the sounds of footsteps. Ones that didn't belong. He looked down and his eyebrows shot up.

What was the idiot doing here?

He slipped down and listened closer. Something told him he needed to pay attention.

Tsuna opened the door and squeaked in shocked horror when she saw who was there. He couldn't blame her, though he always wondered why she sounded like a little mouse when startled.

She clearly wanted very much to slam the door in his face, but Iemitsu had a firm grip on the door.

Reborn mood went from irritated to downright pissed. And if he was angry, who knew how the girl was feeling? She was too shocked to even think, and just wanted Iemitsu to leave and go back to his own life.

Tsuna was shaking. She leaned against the solid oak door for comfort, but found none.

That man barging into her life like it was nothing and casually telling her that he had sold her off to someone in another country was the worst thing that could have happened. The way he acted like she was his personal property, to give away as he saw fit made her want to scream.

Why? Why did he do this to her? What had she ever done to him that he would destroy everything in her life?

Tsuna looked up, her eyes full of pain and anger.

No. She refused to let that man ruin her life again. She deserved better.

She looked outside. Verde had taken both the horses, which meant foot travel. Packing her things quickly, she left a small note for Verde to find, unaware of her watcher.

Tears streaming down her face, she decided to do something she never would have thought of before.

Leave the village. It was too risky to stay...that man was close to the king and had eyes everywhere. No one cared about her enough to hide her, which meant she couldn't stay.

She couldn't climb the wall. She couldn't slip out the gate... she was too well known and Lal had them too well trained.

Tsuna walked around, trying her best to pretend it was another day, while silently observing the guards.

Then she found the weakest point. It was the one that lead to a known road, but it wasn't well traveled. In fact she had never heard of anyone actually using it, even if it did go close to the capital.

Rumors said that that way lay a demon.

Well, compared to that man, she'd rather take her chances with the demon.

She didn't hear the thump, or noticed that the guard was discreetly knocked out. All she knew was that there was a brief moment when no one was watching and she took it.


	10. Flames of a Death God Chapter One

**Before anyone asks, this is a Gundam Wing/KHR cross. Wait till you find out who Duo actually is. You will laugh.**

* * *

Duo Maxwell was nothing more than a street rat slated to be a Gundam Pilot before he was even fifteen. He knew this, had accepted he might very well die for a cause that most would balk at doing when they were twice his age.

But if there was one thing Duo had in spades, it was the resolve to follow through on his convictions with his dying will.

And no, he didn't care how often he got that weird look from people when they heard him use such an unusual phrase.

The only ones who didn't give him an odd look for it, weirdly enough, generally had strong ties to the criminal underground.

To be fair, the only "people" and he used the term loosely considering they were all small as hell and very weird, who never even batted an eye at his declaration of using his dying will were all "toddlers" with brightly colored pacifiers and weird pets. They couldn't get involved with the mess that the Gundams were sure to create officially, but since one of the pilots was in fact related to one of them, they could at least train the pilots so they had a greater chance of survival.

Honestly, by the end of it Duo was more scared of that yellow pacifier brat with the damn lizard than he was of any Alliance or Oz forces!

They never used names, but he always found their code names really weird.

Yellow was Sun, Red was Storm, Green was Lightning, Blue was Rain, and Violet was Cloud. They each rotated who they would train and would appear sporadically, but they were terrifyingly effective at it.

Duo liked Cloud, Storm and Rain the best, and was more leery of Sun. Lightning was just an annoying brat who despaired of him ever learning the finer points of hacking anything, though he admitted Duo made a very effective mechanic.

At least Duo would see Spanner again. The perpetual member of the Lollipop Guild (which usually had said blond throwing a wrench at him, because he wasn't a munchkin) was awesome and the two of them could debate design specs for _hours_. Hell, Spanner was the one who got him his own scythe to play with!

He still didn't know where Spanner found that creepy thing, just that it was very sharp and could disappear when he wanted it to. But it was soooo much fun to play with. The old geezer generally bitched when he brought it out.

Duo grinned. And now he got to play with the thing for real.

But first...he had to get to earth.

* * *

Spanner looked at Deathscythe with a mixture of pity and amusement.

Pity, because that other pilot had practically gutted the other Gundam for the parts he needed...and amusement because Duo should have seen this coming. That Heero kid was terrifyingly efficient and had even threatened to shoot Spanner if he had tried to stop him.

He seemed surprised when the other teen merely brought him some food before continuing on his own projects while watching the entire thing with open amusement. It wasn't his problem if one of the other Gundam pilots decided to be an ass.

"Spanner..." growled Duo. "Why the hell didn't you stop him?"

"He said he'd shoot me if I did. Besides, he's a fellow Gundam pilot. It's not like he's going to talk," said Spanner without looking up.

He found himself in a headlock from the slightly shorter teen. His long brown hair was swinging back and forth.

"I'm going to get you for that," he said flatly.

"I'll help repair Deathscythe."

"And suddenly I'm not in the mood to spike your damn lollipops," said Duo with false cheer. Spanner hugged the bag closer to him.

"You leave them alone. They haven't done anything to you!"

Duo's grin was evil. Spanner shuddered.

"I'll help you hack into his computer and get it locked onto porn sites as payback. Fair?"

Duo's evil grin widened.

"Deal," said Duo. Heero was going to get it for messing with his aibou.

 _Later that night..._

Howard only had to hear the evil cackling of Duo and the dark chuckling of Spanner, before deciding he didn't want to know. Anything involving those two got weird in a hurry, especially when Spanner was sleep deprived and Duo was bored.

* * *

"Eh? So you want to visit Namimori and meet Shōichi?" asked Duo once he had gotten his revenge on that damn Heero for dismantling Deathscythe. It was almost fully repaired, but still.

(Best of all he had a full recording of Heero's reaction to finding out his precious laptop had been hacked and he was only allowed to visit the raunchiest porn sites available, some of which catered to gay men with really weird fetishes.)

"Yeah. I've been wanting to meet him since I ran into him on a chat site, but no one has enough time to drive me there," said Spanner, his usual lollipop in his mouth. The guy had a fetish for the damn things.

Duo scratched his head.

"We're pretty close to that city, right?"

"There's a beach not ten miles from the city, and we're less than twenty from it," said Spanner. Howard's ship wouldn't stay in one place while Deathscythe was on it.

"Howard's almost finished with the repairs, so we have a day or two to kill. I'll drive you to town and pick up a few things. I heard from Storm that there's a decent black market I can hit for supplies."

He also got a warning to avoid someone called "Hibari" if he ever went to that area, but what were the odds he'd run into the guy?

Spanner perked up, and went to ask Howard for a day off. Within an hour the two had borrowed a boat and went to a harbor. Duo hotwired the first car he could get his hands on and they were off.

"Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"I am never letting you drive me anywhere unless it's time critical again."

"Why?" asked Duo innocently.

"You are _insane_ ," said Spanner. He was on all fours trying to recover from Duo's insane driving to the town. They didn't wreck the car, thank god, but Duo didn't dip under _ninety_ the entire drive until they reached town!

Duo whistled innocently. Spanner wasn't fooled for a minute.

"Anyway, I reversed hacked his IP address, so I have a general idea of where he lives. Why don't you go visit the town or something?" said Spanner.

"You're buying dinner. I'm thinking sushi," said Duo.

"Only if you don't go above sixty on the way back," Spanner said flatly.

"Aw, you're no fun at all," whined Duo grinning evilly. You could practically see his devil horns.

"You are such an ass," said Spanner.

Duo grinned and waved him off.

Spanner could hack his phone to find him if he wanted.

* * *

 _Several hours later..._

The black market in Namimori was surprisingly well stocked. He was able to upgrade his music collection and get some really neat toys to play with later.

And then he ran into someone who looked way too much like Storm to be a coincidence.

He stared for five seconds, before deliberately walking away. He only got about five feet before the teen almost caved his head in with a tonfa of all things.

"Shit!"

"Carnivore. What are you doing in my territory?" he growled.

"Easy! I'm only visiting!" said Duo quickly. He narrowed his purple eyes at the kid. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Hibari by any chance, would it?"

The teen smirked at him, and brought out a second tonfa.

"Damn. Storm never mentioned you were a shorter haired, taller version of him!"

Hibari stilled, before he really glare at Duo.

"Do. Not. Compare. Me. To. The. Carnivore."

With each word he struck at Duo, who narrowly avoided the hits.

"Watch it asshole!"

"For the crime of annoying me and mentioning _him_ , I will bite you to death."

"Bring it on jackass! I'm the god of death and I ain't afraid of your skinny ass!" said Duo loudly.

Hibari smirked. He had been so bored lately and now an interesting opponent had showed up.

Somehow Duo had a bad feeling this was going to _suck_.

 _Two hours later..._

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Spanner baffled.

Duo looked like he had gotten into a fight with a large cat or something. He was bruised all over and had scratches on top of scratches.

He glared at a teen who looked rather pleased with himself, but was in slightly better condition compared to Duo.

"This asshole thought it was funny to try and cave my damn head in with those stupid batons of his in the middle of the damn street!" he said hooking a thumb at an amused Hibari.

"They're tonfa, not batons you idiot," snarked Hibari.

"So how did your little drop in visit with your chat friend go?" asked Duo crossly.

Spanner leaned back so Duo could look past him to see a red head with glasses.

"Uh, hi. I'm Shōichi Irie."

"Duo Maxwell. I run, I hide, but I never tell a lie."

Spanner looked past Duo at the smug teen beside him.

"Tch. Hibari Kyouya."

Shōichi stiffened.

"As in the _demon prefect_ Hibari?!" he said in horror.

"Demon prefect?" repeated Duo.

"He's a known terror of Namimori! He's practically taken control of all the delinquents in town and his favorite catch phrase is that he'll bite you to death!" said Shōichi.

He didn't even _attend_ Hibari's school and he still knew of the boy's reputation.

Duo gave Hibari the stink eye.

"No wonder you were such a pain in the ass to fight," he said sourly. If he had a bunch of delinquents under his thumb then of course he'd be familiar with most of Duo's dirty tricks. Hibari looked positively smug at that declaration.

"Wao. You were the most entertainment I've had in months," said Hibari.

Duo waved him off.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. First Mr. Perfect Soldier thinks it's funny to try and wreck my ride, and now I have to deal with some demon brat sent to annoy me on my day off," said Duo sourly.

Spanner snickered.

Hibari gave him an odd look.

"Are you aware 'Storm' has designated Namimori as a safe area for you and the other four in the event you need a place to hide?"

Duo blinked.

"He what?"

"Alliance has no jurisdiction here. Another group has control of the area and made it clear that they weren't welcome. And if they did try to take it over, I'd bite them to death."

"Huh. So how are you related to that midget anyway?"

Hibari had a sour look on his face.

"He's my uncle," he replied. As if he hated being reminded of his relation to the man.

Probably because he couldn't beat him, Duo thought vindictively.

"Meh, at least you _have_ family," said Duo.

He perked up when the waiter came up with their order.

The guy seemed nice, but there was a spacey look to him. And there was something about him that screamed under the right circumstances he could become very, very dangerous to piss off.

"Two purple and blue specials~!" he said cheerfully.

"Thanks man! I was craving some proper sushi all week!" said Duo cheerfully.

There was a brief moment as the two sized each other up. Mostly because they had almost identical masks.

"Ahaha, no problem. Our sushi is the best in town!"

It was really good food, and Duo was shameless in enjoying it. And the tea was even better, though Hibari stole most of the purple type.

He seemed to have taken an open interest in Duo for some reason.

"Hey Duo...think Howard would mind if we spent the night here?" asked Spanner.

"Eh?"

"Well your ride isn't going to be fixed until morning... and it'll only take a few hours to get back," said Spanner.

"Why not?" said Duo cheerfully. There was something so nostalgic about this town.

Almost like a forgotten memory.

"Uh, I don't think I have room for two of you. Spanner, maybe..." said Shōichi nervously.

"Tch. The carnivore can stay at my house," said Hibari.

Duo turned to stare at him.

"What?"

"That damn carnivore warned me about the others, but didn't give me enough details. So I'm going to wring them out of _you_ while I have the chance before they show up," said Hibari flatly.

"Oh. That sounds fair."

"Besides, you're the first person in six months who could keep up with me," he continued.

"Crap. I'm going to get my ass kicked again, aren't I?"

Hibari just radiated smugness, which was a definite _yes_ on that subject.

At least he wouldn't be bored.

* * *

Howard looked at the two teenagers, but mostly at Duo.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"He played with you again, didn't he?" asked Spanner amused. Duo growled at him.

Hibari was _insane_ , but damn if he wasn't a lot of fun to spar with! Plus there was this weird warmth in his chest when Hibari declared him a "worthy carnivore", as if he had passed some sort of test.

On the plus side, since Hibari was already involved in this he could almost freely talk about what was going on with the older teen. Nothing specific, but enough to keep him in the loop.

Hibari didn't like surprises, from what he could tell.

Duo immediately headed to a free cot and crashed.

Howard looked at Spanner. The teen grinned and popped in another of his favorite treats.

"He found a demon to play with. Storm's nephew likes to play rough with interesting people who can actually fight back," said Spanner.

"I'm not going to ask," said Howard. "Anyway if you want to do any upgrades to Deathscythe, you got a few hours before it's finished."

Spanner whistled cheerfully as he went to check on the Gundam. He was free to play with them so long as they could still function properly.

He wondered when Heero would notice the 'upgrade' he gave Wing before he left.

 _In Korea..._

Heero twitched. There was a new program that shouldn't be there in his precious Gundam. And it's code looked very familiar...it was almost identical to the damn virus that had infected his laptop last week that took him _days_ to get rid of.

If he ever found out who tampered with his machines he was going to shoot them.


	11. Harmonic Symphony Chapter One

Tsuna hated school, for multiple reasons. The chief being that he was always bullied and locked into rooms alone for hours. This time it was an abandoned music room.

Since he knew the odds of being found and rescued before dinner were very slim, he decided to explore the place. For once he was in a room with a window that still had some light coming through.

It was close to eight when he tripped on it. An old carrying case, which opens up to reveal a beautiful instrument and an odd stick.

He later learns it is called a violin.

Tsuna had never been good at anything. It was even in his name. Dame-Tsuna, which everyone called him, including the teachers.

But there is something about the wooden instrument that has his attention. It is so pretty it is almost a crime to pick it up, but it has clearly been left alone for a very long time.

Maybe, just maybe he could be good at _something_ for once.

So when he's finally able to leave, he makes a note of where the room was. He plans to retrieve the violin later, and learn how to play.

 _Two days later..._

It wasn't hard to find videos online explaining the basics of playing the violin.

What was hard is finding a music store that carried the right strings which were within his meager budget _and_ hide his new interest from both his mother and the bullies.

He loved his mother, but she was so absentminded sometimes.

Replacing the strings was a challenge, but he eventually figured it out. The bow at least looked like it was in descent condition.

He waited until his mother was out of the house for a few hours before he put the video on and tried practicing. It wasn't that hard, though he kept getting the finger positions mixed up. It was actually rather fun.

Once he managed to complete a full song (it was 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star') he felt a sense of accomplishment that was missing from his life. It wasn't much, but it was more than he had before.

He still couldn't make heads or tails out of sheet music though.

* * *

 _Tsuna, age 9_

It was getting harder and harder to hide his hobby. Apparently his habit of practicing in empty classrooms when most of the other kids had gone home had come back to 'haunt' him. There was now a persistent rumor of a ghost violinist in the school.

And the more supernaturally inclined kids wanted to find it.

He was about to start practicing when he heard something that chilled him to the bone.

"So you're the herbivore who's causing all the rumors about a ghost violinist. If you don't explain yourself I will bite you to death."

Tsuna turned to find... _Hibari-san?!_

Oh gods, he was so dead.

"I didn't start the rumors!" he said hurriedly, trying not to wave the bow around as a weapon or drop the violin.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at him.

"Then why have I been hearing multiple reports about violin music from abandoned classrooms after hours?" he demanded.

Tsuna blushed embarrassed.

"I didn't want anyone to hear me practicing, or have my mom find out about my hobby. And if I stay after school hours then the people most likely to mock me for it generally don't bother me," he said, not looking at the older boy.

Bullies were less inclined to stick around the school when there were teachers present, and he really didn't want to be mocked about playing badly.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why not join the music club or the orchestra club?"

"Again, I don't want to be mocked because I hit a wrong note," said Tsuna.

It had taken every bit of what little courage remained after years of being bullied to even start practicing the violin. He didn't want it shattered.

Besides, everyone knew him as "Dame-Tsuna". Someone who was so pathetic and worthless that it wasn't worth knowing him.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at him.

"Play something."

"Huh?"

"If you can prove to me you're actually practicing and not just goofing off, I won't bite you to death. But if you can't..."

He didn't need to clarify how _bad_ it would be for Tsuna if he couldn't play anything.

Tsuna gulped and prayed to the gods he didn't screw this up.

He put the bow to the strings and started playing. It was something he had only recently managed to get the hang of, and it was something a bit more...modern.

He was a huge fan of Lindsey Stirling.

(This is an actual violin artist who has a youtube channel. I'm a huge fan of several of her songs, like "Shatter Me", "Master of Tides", "Roundtable Rival", and "Shadows". I would totally recommend her music!)

Hibari said nothing throughout the entire song, but when it ended Tsuna was very, very nervous. He really didn't want to be bitten to death.

"Wao. You were acceptable, herbivore."

He almost let out a huge sigh of relief.

"However..."

Tsuna tensed.

"If you're planning on practicing where others can't tell who's playing, then do it on the roof. That way the sound will carry enough to confuse people as to where it's coming from," said Hibari.

That, and he happened to nap up there frequently enough that he wouldn't have to track down the timid herbivore a second time for an encore. His presence alone would dissuade the worst of the crowding.

"I'll keep that in mind, Hibari-san," said Tsuna with open relief. He wasn't going to be bitten to death.

Hibari left, making sure to close the door.

Tsuna debates on whether to keep practicing, but his internal warning system alerts him that others are coming.

He sighs and puts away his violin and bow, before making a discreet exit.

And by discreet, one would have to mean jumping out of the second story window into a nearby tree from din of long practice and managing to get down without crashing.

By this point, Tsuna has more or less mastered the art of the awkward and hasty escape. At least he didn't break his arm or get more than a few bumps and bruises anymore.

Hearing the voices, he sighed in relief. Today had been too hectic for his tastes, though he would have to find a place to hide until the worst offenders of his usual beatings went away. It was still too early for them to have given up on finding him and go home.

"Ahaha... why did you jump out of the window like that?"

Tsuna froze.

Come on, his luck could _not_ be THAT bad today!

He turned to find the baseball star Takeshi Yamamoto and hoped like hell the other boy didn't see the case.

"Last time I was in the room where the supposed music ghost is, I lost half my homework because they took out the fact they couldn't find it on me," he lied.

"Seriously?" asked Takeshi, surprised.

"Easier to hide from people who want to beat me up in the empty classrooms until everyone goes home than to walk and get beaten by someone other than Hibari-san," said Tsuna blithely.

Honestly, his mother never commented on how late he came home and just _assumed_ he was out with friends. She never even noticed all the bruises he had every month, or that most of his allowance was usually spent on basic medical supplies like bandages.

He is so used to being ignored, at being dismissed because he was "Dame-Tsuna", that he completely missed the look in Takeshi's eyes. Like he was putting several things together that he didn't like one bit.

What Tsuna doesn't know was that Takeshi had overheard several of the repeat offenders who took particular amusement in beating them up and had dismissed them as making wild claims. That they were just talking trash.

Seeing the resigned and almost broken eyes of a boy he only barely registered as being in his class more than once, Takeshi realizes the painful truth.

The boys weren't just shooting the breeze when they spoke of hunting down the smaller, more fragile boy. They were reminiscing about how much pain they had caused the poor kid.

It had gotten to the point that Tsuna was hiding in the school until well after the clubs let out for the day just to avoid them.

Takeshi had to wonder exactly why his parents hadn't put a stop to this sort of thing already. If Tsuna was so desperate to avoid people that he had learned how to jump out of a window into nearby trees, then surely someone should have said something about it by now?

"Want me to walk you home?" he asked.

Seeing the startled eyes of the smaller boy hurt. Like he was in absolute shock someone was offering something as simple as walking him home.

Takeshi kept up his fake smile that was his standby.

The more time he spent in Tsuna's presence and was actually _looking_ at him, the more his calm rage built up. What the hell was wrong with his fellow students that they couldn't see how close they were to breaking this poor kid?

And that anger only got worse when he realized that Tsuna's mother either didn't notice or care that her son was being bullied. She just assumed he was overly clumsy, not even noticing the odd case he was carrying.

He was really curious about what was in it, but he could tell Tsuna was skittish enough having him there as it was.

Sure he was a bit late to baseball practice, but it was a small price to pay.

* * *

 _One month later..._

It was the beginning of the oddest friendship with the most unlikely person imaginable. Ever since Hibari found out Tsuna could play and wasn't likely to talk about it to others (thus reducing the risk of crowding and the inevitable act of being bitten to death), he took an odd interest in the smaller boy and his music.

He still didn't know where Hibari found the sheet music for some of the older _Chinese_ songs (and yes, he had looked them up when he finally translated the titles), but he quickly found the one thing that almost guaranteed Hibari-san wouldn't turn his dreaded tonfa on him when he was annoyed.

For some odd and unknown reason, Hibari happened to _like_ the Namimori Middle School song to the point it was his ringtone. Thus, the second Tsuna mastered it to such an extent that he could play it at the drop of a hat without missing a single note he soon found himself the go-to person to calm the older boy down by Kusakabe.

The Disciplinary Committee kept it's silence on his ability to play the violin, but there is a silent sense of relief that he can because it meant a reduction of being bitten to death by the bloodthirsty Hibari.

At least he could practice more without having to worry about anyone laughing at him for it. Hibari's preference to the roof was well known, and as far as anyone knew the boy had a thing for classical music. It wasn't like the teachers were going to tell him to turn it down, since they could barely control his actions to begin with.

He also noticed an increased scrutiny from Takeshi, which was really weird considering the other boy had barely noticed he existed before. But the older boy keeps his silence and his distance.

He didn't think he could handle the strangeness of having actual friends. He was so used to being alone it was his default state.

* * *

It was official.

 _Smoking_Bomb_ was a _genius_ when it came to music. After developing an interest in the violin, he had become more and more proficient in classical references, but this boy _understood_ them. Apparently his mother taught him piano and happened to be a large fan of the greats like Chopin or Beethoven.

He quit playing after her death, but he still kept up with the music. And the chat boards, once he dared to look for them.

The two of them hit it off almost instantly, and as an unintended consequence Tsuna ends up learning Italian. Mostly to translate some of the things the other boy said, but also because he's perfectly aware that his missing and most likely _dead_ father was half Italian himself.

Because honestly, he would never believe his mother when she claimed that narcissistic jackass who spent all of a week in their home and barely even looked at him or even listened was his father. He didn't know who that man was, but there was no way in hell that jerk was his dad.

It only cemented the idea that his mother may have finally lost it, trying to pretend that the obvious drifter was his father.

It took him four months to finally get _Smoking_Bomb's_ real name out of him.

Gokudera Hayato. A boy about his age who was currently trying to avoid his older sister who had a bad habit of using him as a guinea pig for her horrible cooking, and had a short temper.

He seemed rather happy to have someone his age who had zero expectations of him and shared a love for classical music.

Tsuna hoped one day he can meet his chat board friend, if only because he knew how to play several pieces of music that practically demanded a pianist accompany the violin to make it sound completely epic.

And when he shared that idea with Hayato, there was a two-day long pause before the boy timidly admitted he'd love to do the same, if only because it might actually remind him of the good times with his mother, rather than the sour times where he had to play while under the effects of his sister's absolutely horrible cooking.

Tsuna could absolutely sympathize with having something you love being ruined because of multiple bad experiences. It was why he refused to play around others until Hibari took an interest.

One did _not_ refuse Hibari anything if he expressed open interest in it. Not if you wanted to avoid being bitten to death. At the most, the older boy simply made specific requests for what Tsuna played that day while he napped.

Maybe one day he'd be brave enough to play in front of others, rather than just to the violent Hibari-san.

Takeshi was outside the door again, just listening. He had long since figured out what was in the case Tsuna had carried that day, and where the boy favored practicing.

It had taken some doing to slip up to the roof and leave the door just open enough to hear the boy play without Tsuna realizing it. He was rather good and he had to wonder why no one else had figured out this side of him.

It made Takeshi itch to pick up something himself to join him.

Not a violin, because that would require he take too much time out of his baseball practice, and he had little interest in the string instruments. But maybe a flute, because he always liked the soothing feel of the music.

And there was a flute in their attic. He remembered seeing it once after his mother died...supposedly it belonged to an ancestor and it was still in good condition.

"Eh? Yamamoto-kun, what are you doing up here?" asked a teacher a little too loudly.

Takeshi flinched, but at least he had been quick enough to close the door fast enough to avoid being busted. Forget Tsuna, he'd hate to see what Hibari's reaction would be to him intruding on the boy's playing!

"Just enjoying the peace and quiet without intruding on Hibari-san's nap time."

Which was partly true, but not the real reason he came up here.

"Lunch is almost over," the teacher reminded him. Takeshi winced, because there was no way Tsuna would play the rest of the song after he heard that stupid teacher's voice.

Damn, and it was a really good one too.

Almost as if it was fate, his dad sent him up later that night to put some things up in storage, and he stumbled across the old flute...and some sheet music. It was all old and just barely legible, but still in decent enough condition.

Now he just needed to figure out how to play and read the notes. Baseball was great, but he wouldn't mind a real hobby that he could keep to himself.


	12. Coping Mechanisms Chapter One

**If you don't like cross dressing (think Jessie and James from the first Pokemon series when they switched the usual male/female outfits) or Gender-Fluid Characters, turn away now. You have been warned, so no whining.**

* * *

It all started out of some twisted idea his mother had.

She would go on and on about how "cute" he looked...and then she put him in a dress.

Some might think that a little boy like Tsuna would complain about such feminine clothing...except Tsuna wasn't exactly normal.

Seeing the _real_ smile on his mother's face about being able to pretend she had a daughter to spoil rotten and train in how to act as a house wife, as opposed to a son who kept failing to measure up to a man he long suspected was dead...well, Tsuna didn't exactly have a tough choice to make.

Besides, he noticed that none of the usual bullies would bother him like they did when he was wearing boy's clothing.

And then his mother ordered the wrong uniform by mistake two years before he entered middle school.

It would spell the beginning of the end for anything resembling a normal life.

Because Tsuna found the one thing that would allow him to escape the hell that he had endured since that funny old man came to visit with his long-dead father. And no, nothing Nana said contrary to that opinion would change how he felt.

If "Iemitsu" was alive, then he didn't deserve the title of father, much less husband. He left them all alone to suffer in silence while he was off enjoying his own life in Italy.

Therefor it was up to Tsuna to keep that smile on his mother's face. So that she didn't have to worry.

Besides, who cared about stupid things like "gender identity" anyway? The few males his mother had contact with were openly dismissive and in some cases disgusted when they found out what he was doing. The women on the other hand... they were a bit more sympathetic.

His mother had a reputation for being something of an oblivious airhead. But she was genuinely kind and anyone could see that the months, even years without her husband raising a small child was taking it's toll on her.

So the idea that her son would do something as silly as dressing up and even acting like a girl to make her smile, well, that just made them coo at him and call him a good child. After all, he was taking care of his mother the best (and only) way he knew how.

He wasn't good at sports. He wasn't particularly gifted in academics or anything really. He was too effeminate to be a "manly man" like most boys his age. He was one of the shortest kids in his class, and clumsy to boot.

It would be impossible for such a sweet little boy to possibly match up to the other males in his class, and that would inevitably lead to bullying.

As a girl however... there were double standards there. Girls didn't have to be athletic, smart or very coordinated. If they were good at keeping house and with children, then society stood back and said "that was fine" and left them be.

So for Tsuna to pretend to be a girl...well, there was no harm done so long as he never took advantage of the misconception. Though odds were if he did, the secret would be blown wide open anyway and things forcibly sorted out.

For now, Nana's friends kept their mouths shut about the little game the mother and son were playing.

* * *

Kyouya Hibari liked things orderly. He liked quiet. He had a secret love of small animals.

What he didn't like was when things didn't fit in, like rumors of a girl using the boy's restroom.

As with all things, when such a rumor reached his ears and the teachers did nothing to put an end to such disorderly behavior (the genders were separated for a _reason_ , especially after puberty hit) he decided to do something about himself.

What he expected and what he got were entirely two different things.

Sawada Tsuna looked and acted like the epitome of a small animal. Hibari had caught the girl going into the boy's bathroom and grabbed her the second she came out, dragging her to his office.

"Explain, now. Why is a girl using the boy's restroom?"

Because such behavior was perilously close to entering the changing rooms, which he would never allow.

Tsuna flinched.

"Because I'm not actually a girl."

Hibari stared at her. She looked and acted like any other girl in the school, and wore the clearly female uniform.

His staring turned dark.

"Then why are you wearing the girl's fuku instead of the boy's uniform?"

Tsuna sighed in exasperation.

"Not this argument again... I'm only doing it to make my mother happy."

"Your mother is forcing you to crossdress?" said Hibari incredulous. That was borderline abuse. Something he would have to correct.

Tsuna flinched at the accusation.

"No! It's just... my dad is either dead or he doesn't care about us at all, so it's just me and my mother. She was always sad all the time, until as a joke she had me put on one of her old clothes and she could pretend for a bit I was a girl. I noticed that most of the guys who beat me up left me alone, and it made her happy with pretending so I kept on doing it. Next thing I know it had become a habit."

Hibari was a bit at a loss of what to do. From the sound of things, Tsuna Sawada had the most _bizarre_ coping mechanism he had ever heard of.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl? Boy?

"You haven't been peeping on the girls have you?"

Tsuna stared at him blankly.

"You busted me for using the _correct_ bathroom while wearing the girl's uniform. What do you think? With how clumsy I am it's easier to change beforehand and try not to blow my cover. Besides, none of the teachers have even noticed it."

The small animal wasn't causing harm... it was just cleverly disguising itself so the jackels would find new prey while keeping it's pack mother happy.

Still...he had to confirm this wasn't a stunt to earn a free pass into the girl's half of the school.

"Hmph. Small animal, I will inspect your home life before I render judgment. Until then, hold it in."

Tsuna looked relieved.

"Fair enough."

It was close to the end of the day anyway, so he could do that much at least. And having to feed _Hibari_ and have him see for himself that he really wasn't kidding about it being a minor habit of crossdressing to make his mother happy was a small price to pay.

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

Hibari had to revise his opinion of Tsuna Sawada.

His mother was more than just a bit of an airhead...she was genuinely oblivious to the point he would be willing to bet she wouldn't have properly noticed any damage done to her cub unless it required hospitalization. There was some sort of problem with her mind... he had noticed her eyes were unusually glazed over to the point it raised suspicions.

As if there was some other force at work there, one that originated from that carnivore's side of the world. However he wasn't about to ask for help from _him_ just out of a suspicion. Not without proof.

Tsuna's trick with cross dressing was brilliant in it's simplicity. It kept his mother from slipping too far into her own world and he learned valuable life skills at the cost of a little dignity.

Kyouya paused in the washroom of the Sawada home.

There were plenty of stories in Japan about kitsune who could shift between genders at will, playing minor tricks on the unwary. And Sawada clearly identified more as a "gender neutral" person than as a boy or a girl. So long as the den mother was happy, the pre-teen could shift between both sets at will.

And his control over the female herbivores was noticeably lacking...to say nothing of (shudder) the fan girl herds.

He could deal with several sets of annoyances and gain a useful spy at the same time.

Mind made up, Hibari returned downstairs and waited for the older Sawada to be preoccupied with dishes.

"Small animal, I will make a deal with you. I will allow you to continue your ruse at the school under certain conditions."

Tsuna relaxed. The worst Hibari could have done was say no and then "bite him to death" for the confusion he caused.

"First off, I want you to stop using the boy's bathrooms unless you are wearing the _correct_ uniform. The same goes for the physical classes."

Tsuna nodded. That was a small price to pay, but he had been more worried how Hibari would react if he was busted than he was about using the wrong bathrooms.

"Second. My control over the other female herbivores is somewhat lacking, due to gender bias (he looked disgusted that he had to reign in his violence for something as minor as _gender_ ) and the fact that very few are willing to bring me the information I need to crack down on the worst offenders."

"You want me to act as your inside informant, since most of those bullied are too afraid to speak up, and those that will are too scared to talk to you," said Tsuna, catching on.

Hibari nodded.

"If need be I can have you installed as my personal secretary."

Tsuna could see the advantages of the agreement.

Hibari would gain more control over the school, thus reducing the bullying issue that was still rampant because he wasn't allowed to go after the females without cause, and Tsuna's habit of crossdressing would go unnoticed. Though there was one small issue with the plan.

"The other students will talk you know. If they see us together they'll automatically assume..."

"Let them," said Hibari bluntly. "With any luck it will get those ridiculous fan girl herds to leave me alone once puberty hits and this way you won't be found out due to the herbivores getting _ideas_ once their hormones wake up."

Tsuna shuddered at the idea. The second any of the boys started making looks at him he was so out of there. It wasn't that he was adverse to dating a guy, it was just that most of the ones in his school were all jerks who had either joined in with the bullying or had openly mocked him at some point, with a few rare exceptions.

Pretending to date Hibari was a small price to pay for some protection against that.

"Do we have an agreement, little fox?"

Tsuna nodded.

"I'll act as your informant and as a shield against those insane fan girls in the school," he agreed...then he tilted his head. "Little fox?"

Hibari smirked.

"Foxes can change their gender to suit themselves and play tricks on the unwary," he explained.

Tsuna got the joke and his smile made Hibari widen his eyes.

The little fox was ridiculously cute, and with a smile like that... it was no wonder he had successfully been able to hide the fact he wasn't a girl.

Hibari smirked.

With any luck the little fox would prove quiet useful.

* * *

There is only one thing that can travel faster than anything, and that is rumor.

Within a week the girls were gossiping like mad about how timid little Tsunako ended up as Hibari's _personal_ secretary. Which oddly enough only seemed to elevate Tsuna's status among them, because despite his violent habits, his bloodthirsty unapproachable nature, and the fact that he had even the _teachers_ scared to get on his bad side he was still one of the most _popular_ boys in school.

Hibari Kyouya was rich (it was well known he lived in one of the more well-to-do neighborhoods), he had power (he had most of the male delinquents under his beck and call), he was intelligent (his grades never dipped below the high marks, despite outright ignoring classes or even skipping grades on a whim), and most importantly for the preteen girls...he was unbelievably attractive.

For females just now starting to look at boys with interest, Hibari was very much a catch.

He was like a lone wolf who claimed the school as it's territory.

And Tsunako of all people had managed to catch his eye. His fan girls were almost in mourning...except the girl was rather timid and definitely weak, so disposing of her would be no problem at all. After all, she was going to show the others what Hibari's likes and dislikes were when they finally started to go after him for real.

Tsuna found it rather amusing, really.

Hibari wasn't even interested in that nonsense, outside of keeping such herbivore behavior far, far away from him if at all possible. He hated being around people, and Tsuna found he liked the peace and quiet almost as much as Hibari did.

At least he could work on his homework in peace for once, and Hibari was smart. Smart enough to know how to coach his "little fox" as he insisted on calling him in how to understand the material. He scoffed at the teachers for being incompetent in their job.

He would begin Tsuna's training soon enough, once her place in the school's herd was established. It wouldn't do for the sheep to realize that they had a fox on top of the vicious wolf in their midst.

After all, "Tsunako" was still too new for Tsuna to be able to come up with a good lie every time he risked being caught. Especially when the more vicious females figured out the source of Hibari's information.

Tsuna had already provided a list of females who would need reminders in their behavior. A list compiled over the past week alone... he still needed a female omnivore to deal with them personally, which was a pain.

Hibari had to blink. Was Tsuna actually purring while he sat next to him?

Yes... apparently the odd gender fluid kid was actually purring. What the fuck.

Well at least it made the animal comparison a lot easier.


	13. Honor to Us All Chapter One

**I made this because I wanted to see a Ranma/Fon pairing. I make no excuses. XD**

* * *

Ranma Saotome was looking in the mirror, a look of tired introspection on his face.

His 'wedding' with Akane was fast approaching, and for the first time Ranma was looking back on his life and coming to conclusions he really didn't like.

Everything he had done until this point was for the Art or to preserve his Honor.

Yet looking back, he could see that perhaps he would need to do something drastic to save what honor he had left as a Martial Artist. Something his "family" as he was almost hesitant to call them, and friends would almost certainly protest at.

Especially Genma and Soun.

He knew this would hurt Akane, but to be honest she would be much happier with someone else. He had thought he loved her, but looking back on it, he realized they were a match made in hell. Too many wrongs on both sides, and too many outside forces had resulted in a relationship that would never last.

Yes, they did care for each other, but the past hurts would inevitably force them apart in the end. Better to make a clean break, once and for all...for both their sakes.

Besides, if he wasn't as tough as he was he would have been dead a thousand times over for his "perversions" after all the times she had attacked him with that thrice damn hammer of hers, or worse that awful excuse for cooking!

With that in mind, Ranma made a decision.

For the sake of his _honor_ and his sanity, he needed to do something.

And he knew the perfect place to start.

* * *

"I need to speak to Cologne. Alone," said Ranma flatly when he reached the restaurant.

Kon Lon could sense a change in the boy her granddaughter had been pursuing for almost three years. His aura was tired...but resolved. He had clearly come to a decision. One that would bring many changes.

"What is it?" she asked, smoking her long pipe.

"I have a solution to a few of our problems. One that should preserve Shampoo's honor and mine without forcing me to marry her."

Kon Lon said nothing, and allowed him to get it out.

"I know you more ways to lock someone in their cursed form almost permanently. And to be honest I am sick and tired of fighting to preserve what little honor I have left thanks to Genma's actions. Which is why I've decided to do something drastic that should settle the score between us."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Lock me in my girl form, and adopt me as a sister of the Amazon tribe. This way your secrets stay within the tribes and you'll still have an extra fighter in the event they are threatened."

"And Shampoo?"

"She can hardly marry one of her 'sisters', now can she? You could credit her with helping to train the new addition of the tribes, but the curse remains because she did challenge an outsider and lost."

Kon Lon took a deep puff of her pipe. It was a simple, if elegant solution. By adopting Ranma's girl form as a Sister, it would allow Shampoo to keep her honor intact and avoid forcing the two to marry. Though she would still have to bring in fresh blood.

"What of the Tendo girl?"

Ranma's eyes became exhausted, but still resolute.

"I'm going to explain to Nabiki that the contract was voided long ago by Genma's actions, along with the fact there have simply been too many past wrongs between me and her sister for us to reasonably marry. If I have to, I will remove myself from the Saotome family register entirely."

Odds were Nabiki would help, considering she couldn't have possibly missed the way the two had been acting all this time. Her sister could use a clean slate, just like Ranma.

Besides, odds were that the "rivals" would simply show up and ruin the wedding anyway. They might as well avoid the entire mess.

Kon Lon looked at the tired martial artist before her.

Ranma's solution solved a great many issues, though there would undoubtedly be a good many sore feelings on the matter. This boy had been through hell just to try and keep his honor intact, all because of the stupidity of his family and his father's foolishness.

As a Master in martial arts, he had every right to break away from his original school to try and regain his own life on his own terms. Or her own terms, if they went through with this.

"Give me some time to confer with my fellow Elders. Should they agree, you will take on Xian Pu's last name and be her sister in blood, thus negating the marriage contract between you for good. However any daughters you have will be trained by us and you will obey our laws."

"Agreed," said Ranma.

* * *

 _Two days before the wedding..._

Nabiki took very little convincing to get on board with Ranma's plan. To be honest she felt that Akane marrying Ranma was an absolute mistake.

"You sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"If I want to regain my honor and not have to deal with this crap again, yes."

Nabiki lead Ranma into the discreet office in Tokyo. They couldn't do this in Nerima...too many people knew who he was and would inevitably blow the whole thing wide open before he made his escape.

In two hours, Ranma Saotome didn't exist anymore. Now he was simply Ranma.

It felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now he just had to complete the ceremony with Kon Lon and he would be done with this forever.

Nabiki was planning to leave as well for Law School. Odds were Kon Lon would help since it meant having a lawyer on their side if they ever needed one.

Ranma went to the cafe and managed to hide until the day was over.

Mousse looked torn between upset and thrilled.

Upset because he knew exactly what a drastic measure this was for the pig-tailed martial artist, and thrilled because it meant he now had a proper chance to be with Shampoo since Ranma would be her sister, not her fiancee anymore.

Kon Lon started speaking in really old Chinese. It was doubtful anyone even _used_ it anymore save for ceremonies like this.

Ranma felt the water on him and the familiar shift.

"Welcome to the Amazon tribe, Sister," said Shampoo. There was a lot of feelings in her eyes...many of the unhappy ones, but she could understand why Ranma had done this.

Kon Lon took something out of her sleeve.

"These are special soaps that will allow you to stay in your cursed form, even when in warm water. I'll give you our contact information when you're running out of them. Unlike the previous methods, there are no obscure or esoteric ways to revert to your true gender... just wait for the effects to properly wear off and you can switch back and forth."

"I'll probably stay in girl form anyway. At least then I won't have to explain my curse as much," sighed Ranma.

"Where are you going to go now?" asked Kon Lon.

"I was thinking back to China. Not the area of the Amazon tribes, but one of the more populated ones. That way I can hide and still be of use," said Ranma.

Kon Lon took out her familiar pipe.

"We can set you up in one of our shops in the mainland. I will teach you how to speak and read Chinese _properly_ , because your accent is atrocious. You will be on the lookout for skilled male martial artists that can be used to further the bloodline. Agreed?"

Ranma nodded. It was a small price to pay for his...no, _her_ freedom.

* * *

Ranko of the Amazon tribe was _bored_. But she wasn't complaining.

Her life could honestly be worse.

Spotting a new customer (good thing she was used to being a waitress from all the shifts she took at the cafe in Nerima), she put on a smile and calmly went up to the table.

"Welcome honored customer! Here is our menu and I will be your waitress for the day. What would you like to drink?"

"Tea, please," said the man pleasantly.

Ranko could sense a great deal of Chi coming from him... it lazily coiled around his body, and he had the aura of a true Martial Artist. He had a quiet confidence, with a long black braid that flowed down his back. His eyes were sharp and black as night. She couldn't recognize which discipline he practiced, but she could tell he was a true Master of his Art.

He more than fit the usual requirements she had for men she sent towards her sisters. Kon Lon had nothing but praise for her... she of all people recognized those truly dedicated to the Art, and thanks to her several of her sisters had found suitable husbands. There had been a slight boom in the population thanks to her efforts, more than a good few of them little girls.

She kept her smile on her face as she waited for him to order... and when it came time to pay the check she left a discreet map on the back of his receipt that would direct him to the general area of the Amazon tribe. There was enough cryptic clues on the map itself to pique the interest of most martial artists into at least visiting.

It was a shame, but female martial artists who could further the Arts were a rarity. Well, outside of the tribes anyway.

 _Some time later..._

He was back again.

"Welcome honored customer. What would you like to drink?" she asked politely.

"Tea, please."

Ranko went and brought back the tea pot. They changed the tea every other day, using different varieties to keep things interesting. If the customer wanted a specific one they would have to order it.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

"Ah. Do you have any Mapo Tofu?" he asked hopefully.

"Indeed. Anything else?"

"Gyoza and Mapo Tofu then," he said pleasantly.

Considering how spicy that dish was, it was probably a good thing they didn't deliberately advertise it except as a special. He probably caught the scent of it from the streets.

She stuck around to see if he would actually eat the dish. She could tolerate it to an extent, but she wasn't exactly fond of it.

Seeing the obvious enjoyment he had from the spicy dish, she shook her head in amusement. Once again she left directions and cryptic clues to the Amazon village. Sometimes it took a few tries before they visited out of curiosity.

 _Two months later..._

Ranko was heading back to her small apartment when she was accosted by five idiots who clearly belonged to the Triads. She also sensed the odd customer that kept coming back, and seemed to be ignoring her subtle hints to visit the village.

"What do you losers want?" she asked annoyed. She was cranky because of 'that time of the month' and wanted a nice long bath before she took a nap.

She almost missed Nerima, if only because she had someone decent to spar with. Almost.

"You're coming with us. Our boss wants to see you," sneered the 'leader' of the group.

"And if I refuse?"

"You ain't got a choice bitch."

Ranko sighed, before putting her bag in a more comfortable position.

"And you just made the worst mistake of your short lives."

What happened next was short, brutal, and in the case of the men, very painful.

She didn't kill them, though they would soon wish she had considering some of the places she hit would take forever to heal. If they pressed the issue she would not hesitate to go lethal.

"It would seem my intervention was not necessary after all."

Ranko turned and gave the guy a look.

"Yeah, well they shouldn't have pissed off an Amazon by accosting me in the street like that," she said flippantly.

The man chuckled, hiding a smile behind his sleeve.

"I had a feeling you were one of the tribes," he said amused. He had recognized the location pretty quick, because it wasn't the first time someone had tried to 'direct' him that way.

Though she was definitely discreet about it, which was a pleasant change of pace.

"Why are you following me?"

"I may have caught wind that some of the Triads were planning to 'visit' you soon. I mostly wanted to confirm you were one of the Amazons though," he admitted.

Ranko made a face.

"There is no way in Enma's fiery hell I am going to join any of the Triads. I barely managed to salvage what was left of my honor after what my father pulled," she said annoyed.

She completely missed the look of interest in the older man's eyes.

"May I at least have your name?"

"It's Ranko."

"I am called Fon," he said pleasantly. Considering the mess of the five idiots she had just left in her wake, the two went different ways.

* * *

Ranko twitched in annoyance.

This was the _third_ assassin after her ass in the past WEEK. It was starting to get annoying, tossing their bodies in a heap outside her apartment.

She heard a knock at the door, and didn't even bother opening it. Only an idiot did that.

Instead she used the mirror she rigged outside her front door after the second attempt on her life, and looked.

Yep, another idiot Triad after her.

She stood to the side and threw the door open, attacking with superior speed in snapping the man's neck.

"And that makes number four. This is getting really annoying."

She hauled the body up with one arm and tossed him over the railing onto the street below, making sure to stay out of any open sight lines. A smart move considering a bolt hit into the dead assassin from across the street.

Oh that was _it_.

She had had enough of this crap! At this rate she wouldn't be able to work, much less pay rent. To say nothing of practicing her katas so that her skills wouldn't get rusty!

Growling in annoyance, she went to the faucet and waited for the water to get hot enough, and then dumped an entire glass of water over her head.

Where a tiny red haired Amazon stood was a Japanese male with an annoyed expression on his face.

He quickly packed his bags of anything he felt like keeping, and threw a duffel over his shoulder with practiced ease. Hopefully the Kon Lon could direct him to a new area with an Amazon presence, if only so he could get some peace. The special soap went into a plastic bag that he zipped up and put in his pocket.

He slipped out the back, using the techniques he got from Genma to avoid detection...unaware of a pair of eyes that saw through it with some surprise that a _man_ came out of an Amazon's apartment. A pair of eyes that quickly slipped in to check on the girl, only to find the place having been practically stripped bare in a matter of minutes, and no sign of the former occupant.

That figure slipped off after the first.


	14. Thief in the Midnight World Chapter One

Emiko Niwa was rather surprised to hear from her younger sister. The last time she saw Nana was when she got married to that rather odd young man who felt off.

"Nana! It's lovely to see you. And who's this little one?" asked Emiko.

Nana smiled and picked up the little boy. He was about Daisuke's age, if not a few months older.

"This is my little Tsu-kun. Tsuna, I want you to say hi to your aunt Emiko," said Nana brightly.

Tsuna chose to hug his mother's neck and hide. Nana sighed a bit.

"I'm afraid he's been rather skittish since that foolish husband of mine brought his boss to our house. Is father home?"

In short order, Nana was catching up with her sister and drinking tea, while Tsuna got to know his cousin Daisuke. The two of them were playing with the toys in the living room.

"So what did your foolish husband do this time?" asked Daichi. He never really liked Iemitsu much to begin with... the man was too flaky.

Nana sighed in exasperation.

"He decided to put a seal on my son without even consulting me. I don't know what kind, but Tsuna's been rather skittish and his skills have deteriorated in far too short a time. He used to be rather graceful and now he's positively clumsy. To say nothing of his grade...they've dropped so far that even the teachers have noticed something is up."

Daichi and Emiko frowned. Placing a seal on a child was not something to be done so lightly. And from the sound of it, Nana's husband used one of the older ones that weren't used anymore because they were positively useless and did more harm than good.

"What did your husband say on the matter?" asked Daichi.

Nana's eyes hardened. She was clearly furious about the whole matter.

"He continues to pretend he knows nothing and he's never home. I suspect he's going to play the fool and claim ignorance. This was the first visit home he's made in over six months, and he goes and does this. If he's not going to give Tsuna the proper training, then he has zero say in what we teach him."

"You want him to join Daisuke in the family training?" asked Emiko seriously. Nana had elected to leave, rather than continue the family business. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that the family was put in danger by their rivals, only to come back from an estranged member taking up the old ways.

"If Iemitsu is going to abandon us, then I see no reason why Tsuna can't learn our ways instead. It would serve the fool right, and even I can see the seal they put on _my_ son will only hurt him in the long run."

Daichi took a long pull of his tea.

"We should figure out which seal they used first, and remove it once we find out the proper counter. Of course this means you'll have to rejoin our ranks," said Daichi. Having the mother there would make things go much smoother.

Nana nodded. She would not allow her idiot husband to ruin their son's life.

It took them three months to find the seal that was used, and another two before they could remove it safely. As they suspected, it was an older, rather barbaric seal that forcibly shoved the natural magics and made it very hard for the victim to compensate because it made controlling their natural powers almost impossible.

Nana would love to have _words_ with her husband over this, but had to keep her tongue because she suspected that if he ever found out she had it removed he might try it a second time.

Better to plead ignorance and keep Tsuna far from the man until their family gifts fully manifested.

* * *

Tsuna would be the first to admit his family was weird. But he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Even if he found the way his mother woke him up when he would rather sleep in very annoying.

Having the bed collapse inward and dropping you in the basement got really annoying, really fast. Though it was nothing compared to the fact his mother made certain he would have to dodge Hibari-san _every freaking morning_.

He still didn't know what exactly his mother did to piss the other boy off, but every morning when he went to school he always had to find a way past the other teen or he would end up bitten to death in short order. Regardless of whether he was actually _late_ or not. Considering Hibari also brought in his Disciplinary Committee to their little game of cat and mouse, Tsuna had gotten very, very good at getting to school without being seen or noticed.

Then again it was much harder to hide in broad daylight than it was at night. He was a _ghost_ when it came to moving at night.

"Tsu-kun! Breakfast is ready!"

Tsuna easily dodged the traps around the house. It was almost second nature at this point. The entire home was an obstacle course that changed every morning, save for certain areas. The kitchen, living room, bathroom and master bedroom were the only safe areas.

Personally he always though the basement was the worst area. Whenever he overslept and ended up dumped in there, it usually took him an _hour_ to get through the traps and other tricks his mother had set up and then through the security system.

Seeing the box on the table, Tsuna dismantled the locks and took his breakfast out. It was part of his mother's odd habits, to make him work for his food.

On the plus side, the bullies he had to deal with at school every day had never successfully destroyed his lunch. He always took a bento to school that had a combination lock and was practically indestructible. And even if they tossed it in the trash, the food was perfectly safe once he retrieved it.

"Itadakimasu~!" said Tsuna happily.

He grabbed his things from his room, then went out the window. He wasn't dealing with them a third time, and it wasn't that far a jump.

Tsuna looked around carefully. He saw four of Hibari's men and the prefect himself was at the gate. He grinned, and came up with a route that let him evade all of them.

Once he was safely in the school (where Hibari and his men wouldn't bother him), he whistled as he went to class.

It was only as he was leaving that he remembered something important.

Today was his fourteenth birthday.

"Tsu-kun~!"

Tsuna grinned as he came home.

"What is it Mama?"

"Auntie Emiko and Grandpa are here~!" said Nana happily.

"What about Daisuke?"

"He'll be here later. We don't want to ruin the surprise for him," said Nana cryptically.

Translation: he was off exploring Namimori since the party wouldn't be until later. For some reason Nana always had Tsuna's birthdays after he hit thirteen take place after seven.

Tsuna had the feeling it had something to do with their family and why he was always training with those ridiculous traps. His mother had yet to confirm or deny that they were a family of Phantom Thieves... because most of the traps were usually the kind to protect valuables in rich homes or museums. Or were meant to deter the really, really good thieves.

He hated that he had to keep up the guise of being "Dame-Tsuna" though. Maybe his mother would let him drop it as a birthday present?

"Tsu-kun, there's something special in your room. Why don't you go see what it is before the party?" said Nana with a smile.

Clearly whatever the present was had to be tied to whatever it was their family specialized in.

Seeing the picture of his crush, the school idol Kyoko, Tsuna felt heat surge in his body. He almost collapsed on the floor, but managed to keep up right.

This wasn't like the time he was five, when fire coursed through his veins. Or the seven months after that when the seal was removed, and the fire came again.

This was something else. Something that had been lying in wait for years before he was ready to handle it.

Suddenly all those times he helped with the rituals that kept the seals on the many artworks in his aunt's home made a lot of sense. They were preparing him for this, to handle this power.

He felt something or someone attaching itself to his consciousness. Like a great cat stretching out after a very long nap. It took Tsuna several minutes to register something important.

He looked nothing like himself!

Tsuna ran to the full length mirror in his room...suddenly it's presence made far too much sense.

He was at least two feet and a half taller than he was before, his hair had shifted from caramel colored to that of a deep amethyst. His eyes were like purple jewels and his skin was slightly tanned. He looked like he could pass for his late teens to early twenties, rather than the rather short fourteen year old he was. His clothes barely fit his new frame at all.

"MOM!"

Nana and Emiko giggled when they saw his new form.

"Oh my, you look so handsome Tsuna-kun!" said Emiko delighted. And to think she only had to wait a few more months before Daisuke underwent the same transformation.

"Mom... is this the reason why you won't admit to our family being Phantom Thieves?" asked Tsuna twitching. "Because I hadn't awakened yet?"

"That's right! My Tsu-kun is so smart~!" said Nana happily.

 _No, it's because I read so much manga that I can recognize an obvious setting for a story involving magical phantom thieves..._ Tsuna thought with a sweatdrop.

What followed was a basic explanation and an assignment, which Tsuna had already guessed was coming. Basically it was something passed down for four hundred years (only to the males), the only way to reverse it was for "Dark" (which was the name of the spirit inhabiting his body) to find the 'sacred maiden', and he would now be sent on assignments to steal artifacts. Though odds were he would have to do some traveling when it came to stealing.

Unlike his cousin Daisuke, Tsuna didn't live in an area where high classed museums with potentially dangerous artwork happened to cluster in one location.

Besides...it meant he would have a chance to avoid Hibari, who hated it when people "disturbed the peace of Namimori". He didn't want to get bitten to death after all.

"So to sum everything up... this is hereditary for the boys, I'll transform every time I see Kyoko-chan and feel my heart race, the transformation has no actual time limit, and the only way to shift back is for Dark to find another girl that makes his heart race, right?" said Tsuna.

"Exactly!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna twitched.

"No, I've read enough manga about magical occurrences and phantom thieves to recognize common plot points when I see them. I was kinda expecting something like this to happen when you wouldn't admit to why you make me evade all those traps every morning or learn how to hack into high level computers," said Tsuna flatly.

Daichi and Emiko laughed outright at that.

"Do I at least get to have the fun of watching Daisuke fumble around trying to figure things out when it's his turn?" asked Tsuna hopefully. That was the only thing that could make this entire headache worth it... seeing someone else have go through the same thing, except without the knowledge base Tsuna had of magical transformations.

Daisuke wasn't much of an otaku like Tsuna. He preferred to paint and make his own artwork rather than read graphic novels.

Emiko's grin was evil.

"Of course!"

"In that case, where am I supposed to go and what do I need to steal?" asked Tsuna grinning.

He could live with being a thief... all the "normal" jobs were so boring, and at least no one would dare call him "No Good Tsuna" while he was in this form.

The theft went off without a hitch, spawning a large number of rumors about the return of Phantom Dark.

Though it was what happened after the theft, when he was escaping the police (and the Disciplinary Committee) that really spiced up his birthday.

Dark took one look at Kyouya (by this point the spirit had fully anchored himself in Tsuna's body and could speak properly or take control) and grinned. Right before he did something that really had Tsuna questioning whether Dark was really straight or not.

Mostly because Dark actually kissed _Kyouya Hibari_ , one of the strongest BOYS in the area on the cheek and called him beautiful.

What the hell?

 _Later that night..._

Emiko wasn't the only one choking when she heard Tsuna's odd question.

"Mama, I thought you said Dark only liked girls?"

"He does, according to our records," said Nana smiling.

"Then why did he just kiss Hibari _Kyouya_ on the cheek before switching back?"

"And this Hibari is..." asked Daichi.

"The strongest and arguably most vicious _male_ my age," said Tsuna bluntly.

Emiko and Daichi choked hearing that.

Nana however smiled.

"Just because you look like a no-good doesn't mean you are, Tsu-kun," said Nana cryptically.

Tsuna blinked, before he stared at his mother. Then it hit him what she was talking about.

He started laughing.

"That is ridiculous. Which hospital?"

"Not until later. It's better if the uproar over Dark's reappearance died down a bit first," said Nana.

"I'm back! Happy birthday, Tsuna!" said Daisuke. He eyed the outfit oddly. "What's with the costume?"

"Apparently stealing runs in the family. Check it out," said Tsuna, and Daisuke gaped.

"That was you?!"

"Come on Dai, you really think _half_ of the things in your basement was acquired legally?" laughed Tsuna.

Daisuke groaned at the reminder. He didn't like half the nonsense his mother and grandfather insisted he train in.

Unlike Tsuna, he never really took the whole trapped house deal in stride. Or had the sense to fix it so that he fell into a makeshift hammock rather than a net when he wanted to sleep in and his mother wouldn't let him.

(Tsuna had long since gotten used to his mother's idea of waking her reluctant son up. As such he switched the net with a hammock that had pillows and a blanket, along with an alarm clock so he didn't sleep in too late...though usually he took the fact he was almost certain to be "bitten to death" by Hibari as a given on those days.)

It was on the lips of everyone in class for the entire week. The "Return of Phantom Dark". Of course Hibari had been in a right mood ever since the thief made good on his warning and stole the painting.

There were piles of people he had "bitten to death" for getting on his nerves all over, and the hospital had actually sent someone to try and placate the irate teen. What he was so pissed about, no one was entirely certain off.

Tsuna knew, but he wasn't entirely suicidal.

Besides, he had to keep playing up the "clumsy, stupid no-good Tsuna" disguise his mother insisted on.

* * *

 _In the Reception Room..._

"Damn you Dark. I _will_ bite you to death for that stunt!" snarled Hibari.

It was bad enough that stupid omnivore managed to escape, but to actually have the balls to kiss them like that and fly off...

Hibari was going to make Dark pay and pay dearly for that stunt.


	15. Slayer's Harmony Chapter One

The sound of a young girl panting for breath echoed across the dark graveyard. Her hands were calloused, and she was very skinny. She had no excess fat, and most of her weight was pure muscle. Her clothes were all second hand, but well cared for.

In her right hand was a wooden stake, which considering her appearance didn't really fit the situation.

This girl was the Slayer, and she hated everything that came with it. It wasn't the vampires or other dark creatures that made her hate being the current Slayer suck so much. She could have lived with that.

It was the Watcher's Council and what they did to her that made her absolutely loathe the "honor" of being the Slayer. If she could have pulled it off, she would have killed them a long time ago.

She just wanted to go home. Home, where her mother and her life was.

Not likely to happen, considering she was in Europe and home was in Japan. Especially with her Watcher, who was an abusive bastard that took out the fact she was extraordinarily clumsy and sometimes not that quick with coming up with the right answer to whatever question he barked at her. Who treated her more like a tool than a person and took great pleasure in making her life hell.

Some might have considered suicide.

She wouldn't give those old bastards the satisfaction, and if she died then some other poor girl would be ripped from her home and forced to fight.

Besides, she still wanted to see her mother again.

So she ran. She did her "duty", despite never wanting it or asking for it, and kept her head down.

It didn't take a genius to figure out she was surrounded. One stake wasn't going to cut it, but her _Watcher_ wasn't stupid enough to give her a real weapon. He rightly knew she'd eventually use it on him the first chance she had.

Bastard.

Himeno stared at the vampires around her with a set grimace. She despised being the Slayer and she loathed the Watcher's Council with every fiber of her being.

As she started dusting vampires, she quickly realized she was about to be overrun.

That bastard had probably known this would happen, which was why he let her go solo.

Seeing the fangs about to descend upon her neck, she reached out and grabbed the vampire's face with her free hand. The remaining ones took it as a signal to surge forward and kill her...or turn her, whichever came first.

She was not going to die here. She was not giving those English bastards the satisfaction of using up another girl until there was nothing left, after they ripped her from her home.

She was not going to lose, even if it meant she slowly bled out.

Inside her soul, something slammed forward, breaking something that had been worn down from all the life and death situations she dealt with almost _every single day_.

Ever since she was young, she always felt cold. To say nothing of how her brain always felt like it was trying to wade through snow that had turned into a wet slush that had yet to figure out if it would refreeze properly or not.

But right now? Now she felt properly warm for the first time in far too long. Fire, pure and bright, sprang forth from her body, incinerating every vampire in the graveyard.

She gasped, taking deep breaths as she tried to understand what the hell just happened. The fire slowly died, and she almost fainted.

Except she didn't trust her Watcher as far as she could throw that sleazy pig. She managed to remain conscious long enough to make it to her room, which she promptly slammed shut and locked so tightly it would take far too long for that man to get through it. At least, not without waking her up first.

Things were different now. It was like a filter had been forcibly removed from her body and she could _think_.

She was actually able to defend against that pig she was stuck with, and the look in his eyes made her want to shudder in revulsion. She was almost sixteen, and she knew he was a pervert. She had to clean up after him before, enough to know that locks were always a must in whatever city they were stuck in.

It was as she was cooking dinner that it happened. The second she felt the hand on her waist, she didn't even think. She just reacted.

Hot oil slammed into her Watcher's face, followed soon after by the hot skillet. Hearing his howl of pain, she proceeded to hit him hard enough to make him think twice about getting up.

This was her only chance. She had to get out of her and run, otherwise she'd never be able to escape this hell. She grabbed her emergency travel bag, some of the real weapons like the knives thanks to the key she stole, and all the money the pig had in his wallet.

She was out the door before the man recovered enough from the concussion she just gave him to follow.

Himeno didn't let the sudden freedom go to her head. That man might be a pig, but he was _very_ good at tracking people down.

She needed to put several countries between him and her before she even remotely relaxed. Seeing a cruise ship about to depart, she managed to slip into the cargo bay just before the door closed and hid from view.

She didn't even care where it was going, so long as it was far, far away from here.

Apparently she was heading to an island, one she didn't recognize. The primary language spoken was Italian, which she thankfully knew.

Somehow, she had the feeling a lot of things were about to change. She just hoped it was for the better for once.

* * *

 _Five hours later..._

Himeno was running, but she was used to that. What she wasn't used to was the fact that the only ships off the island were all being closely watched and she didn't have any money left to bribe the captains into getting her out of her.

It wasn't her fault that the asshole Watcher trained her to treat anyone getting into her personal space without permission as an attack on her person! Or that any attack should be dealt with lethal force!

God she hated that man.

To be fair, she had no idea what was even going on until someone went to grab her shoulder roughly and she knifed the idiot responsible.

The howl of pain was so human that she barely managed to hold onto her knife as she bolted. Except that was apparently the signal to give chase, which meant she now had to dodge security on top of whoever was stupid enough to grab her.

She found an empty alley with a manhole, and managed to get that open and close the hole before she dropped several feet into a tunnel system. There was limited light, but her gut told her to follow a specific direction.

Then she heard voices behind her, shouting about finding the "idiot girl who knifed 'so-and-so'", and she started running. She had a lot of experience in running from things faster and stronger than her.

And ran almost head first into someone who was toddler sized, carrying a rifle bigger than he was, with blond hair and a blue pacifier around his neck.

"So you're the one who's been causing a fuss, kora. Drop the knife and you might not get kicked off onto the mainland."

Considering the closest "mainland" she could think of happened to be the same one she just came from, there was really only one reaction she had to that announcement.

She attacked, and the "toddler" was far more skilled than her Watcher ever was.

Then she flared whatever that fire was, and the toddler's eyes widened. Especially since he managed to damage her thin shirt to the point several of her scars were exposed, along with the usual bruises her Watcher gave for not being quick enough when he quizzed her. Which was every other night.

The blond's eyes soften, and there was a feeling of overwhelming peace and tranquility before she blacked out. Something caught her, but she had no idea what.

* * *

 _Colonello POV..._

Well this was a mess and a half. The female brat who stabbed a Flame Active idiot from a moderately high up familigia turned out to be a Sky herself. An _abused_ Sky, from the looks of it.

The girl had looked openly terrified of the mere mention of being sent back to the mainland, and from the bruises alone he could tell she must have been running from something.

He wasn't a doctor or anything, but he knew multiple healing bruises when he saw them. And that wasn't even getting to the scars he could clearly see under those.

He was lucky he managed to catch her.

It took a few seconds to clear up the mess with security...though he wasn't placating the idiots who set her off to the point she knifed them. It was a bigger pain relocating the girl to the main hospital on the island. Fortunately that's what new recruits were for.

"Oi, Bomber brat. Got a job for ya, kora," said Colonello.

Gokudera Hayato was a part time hit man who used most of his money paying for lessons from the Rain Arcobaleno. He had taken pity on the kid and given him a discount, since he didn't bitch about the work.

"Who's this?"

"None of your damn business, but I need your help carrying her into the barracks until I can arrange for her to be taken to the hospital discreetly. The last thing we need is for the idiots to find out what she is, especially considering her wounds," said Colonello flatly.

A potentially unattached Sky with all the signs of long-term abuse? That was just _asking_ for trouble and Colonello wasn't stupid enough to invite it.

Hayato managed to pick the girl up and frowned almost immediately.

"What is it?" asked Colonello.

"She weighs less than those bags you always have me run with every morning. And she's bony as hell."

Colonello's frown deepened. As if he didn't need more evidence the girl had been through hell.

An hour later she was quietly relocated to a private room. Skies were treated like royalty, so she at least wouldn't have to pay for anything. Especially if she attracted the eye of a powerful familigia to pay the bill.

As it was, Colonello found himself in an odd position. He felt a strange, desire to protect and take care of the little Sky that had somehow managed to slip into Mafia Land.

It wasn't until he was essentially called in by one of the doctors that he found out why.

This bruised and battered girl was _his_ Sky. During the moments they were fighting and she did everything in her power to avoid being sent back to the mainland, their Flames had mingled to the point that his Rain had latched onto her Sky. The fact she didn't have any Guardians yet (save for him) was a pretty big clue she was either recently active or kept from them.

The doctor (which Colonello vaguely registered as Trident Shamal, a friend of Reborn's) looked downright pissed.

"Where the hell did you find this girl?"

"That bad?" he asked.

Shamal gave Colonello a look that said volumes. This wasn't the Mist who enjoyed the ladies and was always flirting with anything female. This was the hit man who declined an invitation to join the Varia and he was pissed.

"She has bruises on top of bruises, there are scars almost _literally_ all over her body...most of which look like something tried to claw her open or were made by a sharp blade, and the less said about how underweight and malnourished she is, the better. As if _that_ wasn't bad enough, there are several indications that she forcibly broke through a seal on her Flames."

Colonello stared, looked at Shamal and then at his new Sky. He had figured she was abused and neglected, but the evidence Shamal had found through a single physical was pretty damning. And to add a _seal_ on top of all that...

It was a miracle she was even ALIVE.

Hearing a groan, the two immediately looked at the unconscious Sky starting to wake up.

Seeing them, her eyes widened in fear. It was pretty clear she was terrified of being sent back.

Colonello followed his instincts and made sure she saw him removing his gun and put it to the side.

"Easy, kora. We're not going to hurt you or send you to the mainland," he said gently.

She was clearly confused about that.

"Why?"

Colonello looked at Shamal.

"You're in a hospital right now. In a suite specifically designed for certain...people. I just need to ask a few questions," said Shamal, his voice low and soothing.

Her eyes narrowed at them both.

"You're not with the Watcher's Council are you?"

The two of them shared a look.

"That does explain a few things, like where those claw scars came from..." muttered Shamal. "The sooner you answer a few basic questions, the sooner you can eat and properly rest. Let's start with something simple, like your name."

"Himeno."

"Birthday?"

"October fourteenth."

"Age?"

"Almost sixteen."

Shamal decided to ask a slightly more difficult question.

"How long have you been an active Slayer?"

"Since shortly after I turned nine. The _Council_ found me when I was nine and a half. They spun the whole thing like I had somehow earned a fully paid scholarship to a boarding school in England and tricked my mother into letting me go. They wouldn't even let me contact her after, and ever since I've been stuck with the same Watcher who treated me as nothing more than a tool," she said, shivering. It was clear that whoever was her Watcher terrified her. "There was this fire, in the graveyard. It always felt so cold until that fire came. I knew if I didn't run, something terrible would happen."

She didn't even realize she was crying, or that she was hugging Colonello tightly to her chest like a teddy bear. For once he wasn't cursing his small size, because it was clear the poor girl needed something to hold on to.

"Easy, kora. The Watcher's Council can't come onto Mafia Land, and any vampires stupid enough to come here usually end up dust because of bored mafioso. You're safe here," said Colonello gently, letting his Flames calm her down.

Shamal felt very pissed off with the Watchers now.

"Do you remember your home address or old phone number?" he asked slowly.

"Vaguely. But I'm terrified that if I go home now, he'll track me down and force me to fight again. He might even hurt Mama..." said Himeno, her voice trembling.

Shamal handed her a notepad and a pen. She wrote down her old address and the number she could remember.

"What about your father?" asked Shamal. He had noticed she made no mention of him when the Watchers came.

Himeno's face went completely flat.

"My _father_ is either dead or a deadbeat who left my mother and I when I was _five_. If he is still alive, then the mere fact he left us along long enough for the Watchers to take me means I don't even want to know who he is."

Colonello snorted in agreement.


	16. Equus Chapter One

The day Dino met her, he honestly never expected anything to happen. The woman who owned this particular horse ranch was _very_ selective about who bought her charges. It had taken him _months_ of several deals just to get the address of the ranch and be allowed to look at the animals in question.

And that was just to get ON the property.

When he saw the horses, the animal lover in him fell in love with them immediately. They were immaculately cared for with love and affection. Some showed signs of past abuse, but they were clearly loved now.

This was before he saw _her_.

One look at the young woman tending the massive palomino stallion with the shiny coat he fell in love. Not with the horse, though it was clearly a handsome specimen, but with the woman.

She was young, not even in her twenties. Late teens at least, with thick red hair that flowed down her back and ended in playful curls. It was almost the color of a dark red, almost black color. Her skin was lightly tanned, though Dino noted a few scars that she didn't bother to hide. Like the ones that went down her back almost like she had been hit with some sort of sharp spikes from a tail. Her eyes were a green he could only liken to fresh grass, and kind. But there was a sadness and wariness in them that made him want to know who had hurt her so badly that she had almost closed herself off to everyone save animals.

But it was her smile that did him in. He knew he would kill if it meant that smile was aimed at him... for him.

It took him a few moments to realize there was something nuzzling his hair.

"Eh?"

The sound of a light, tinkling laughter drew him in.

"It seems the Herd Master likes you," she said, giggling.

Dino turned to face the 'alpha' horse, or "herd master" as they were sometimes called.

It was a pure white stallion with almost an almost ethereal silver man and tail, and hooves that shone under the light. All it was lacking was the horn and he'd swear it was the perfect representation of an actual _unicorn._

The horse was nuzzling his hair, almost affectionately.

"I'm Harmony. Are you from the Chaivarone family?"

"I'm their boss," he openly admitted. The idea of lying never once occurred to him.

Harmony smiled _at_ him and he almost had trouble breathing. How the hell was she doing this to him so easily? Reborn would be appalled.

"Well if _he_ likes you, then I suppose I could trust you with my herd. But only if you pass a small test of course. Quest is a very good judge of someone's true character, however I prefer to know that the people who will be buying from me _actually_ know what they're talking about."

"I completely understand," said Dino.

And he did. Horses had been something of a hobby of his...right up until he started making a _lot_ of money on horse trading and to a much lesser extent, horse racing. He had a natural eye for horse flesh, one that Reborn had fine tuned one he realized Dino's ability to discern whether a horse would be worth the effort.

Ironically his love of horses made it a lot easier for him to rebuild his family fortunes and make a nice, clean profit that the cops couldn't investigate them for.

That wasn't to say he didn't have a few criminal activities, but he made damn sure that any money laundering through specific stables was kept firmly in house. It was hard to dispute a large order of hay, after all.

Small, steady doses were almost impossible to notice...and it had gotten Reborn's open approval at the deception, since Dino preferred to buy local when he could.

Dino looked over Harmony's charges and noticed something odd.

"It's almost like you have several different herds."

"I do. One is a specialty stock that you'd need certain clearance for, and even then I'm extremely picky on who is allowed to buy them. The one I normally sell is the one that sticks closest to the main house, while the third and fourth herds stick closer to the forest which is unilaterally off limits to everyone. Even I don't go in there without precautions. There is an unofficial fifth herd, but thankfully it's empty at the moment."

"Fifth herd?"

"I take in abused, neglected and abandoned horses. Especially from the disreputable racing tracks. Needless to say they need a lot of specialized care, which is why they're the unofficial herd. I keep them separate until I'm certain they can be rehabilitated. I _hate_ having to put them down," said Harmony scowling.

"I hate the disreputable tracks, they're always about money and never about the animals," said Dino in honest disgust.

His territory took up the majority of the _legal_ horse racing tracks, and he made damn sure they were at least semi-reputable. The owners all knew he had a zero tolerance policy for abuse or neglect of the animals and if he heard even a whisper of it happening he would investigate. He wasn't above shutting a track down until he knew the animals (and to a lesser extent the racers) were in acceptable condition.

That usually coincided with an abrupt "change in ownership" that generally went hand in hand with someone being iced as a warning to the others.

"I have the distinct feeling you're going to be one of my rare repeat clients," she said with a smile. "That is, if Quest doesn't chase you off by making you bald first."

Dino lightly bopped the horse before he brought out something far more interesting for the stallion to chomp on. Quest accepted the bribe of the green apple eagerly and lost interest in Dino's hair, to his relief.

All in all, he rather enjoyed meeting Harmony.

And if he happened to schedule his purchases so that he could meet her _personally_ , well he doubted anyone would comment. At least he hoped they wouldn't.

 _Later that night..._

Romario watched his young boss with a slight smile on his face. Dino had perked up considerably since he met the owner of the most reputable and sought after horses in the business. The Marauder's Ranch was almost impossible to get in, but if you earned the favor of the owner then all the animals you bought from them were hard working, well loved, and were the best behaved. She never sent out a sick animal, and if you had to let the horse go she would buy them back for a decent price.

She also took in abused horses, and rehabilitated them to the point that they rarely had issues with humans.

It was no wonder his boss fell for her, and hard.

The only issue he could see was that she was a civilian and they had absolutely nothing on her background save for when she first opened the ranch.

For now he'd keep his silence and hopefully encourage his boss to go for it. He hadn't seen Dino this happy since before Reborn showed up and he was still several people _away_ from being stuck as Decimo.

* * *

Harmony was a little baffled as to why Dino had come back. He claimed he was planning to buy a few more horses from her (and had already picked up the ones he paid for a week ago personally) but somehow she had the feeling that wasn't what he was really doing.

And then Firenze clued her in when she made a comment about it. The centaur herd had been rather agreeable when she told them what she was asking of them and why. Once they realized she only wanted them to act as the 'guardians' of the unicorn, pegasus and rarely the "unofficial" fifth herd which consisted of horses that needed time away from humans, they were quite happy to leave the Forbidden Forest behind.

Mostly because she made it very, _very_ clear to the head centaurs that she would leave the entirety of the forest to the centaur herds, and focus more on the main areas of the ranch. Anyone stupid enough to go in without their prior permission was not her problem and she made it clear with a series of signs in several languages that the forest was off limits to unauthorized personnel and that anyone stupid enough to go in without permission from the owner would be dealt with accordingly.

Underneath it was a note in big, easy to understand words that stated without any sympathy that if you went in without permission, they were not legally responsible for anything that happened, so don't come whining to her.

Firenze had found it very amusing, and it had done a lot to soothe the anger of the less friendly centaurs like Bane. The fact she kept out of their forest made the herd happy. Especially since the only thing she asked of them was something they didn't mind doing in the first place...I/E guarding those who needed protection from humans.

Firenze had chuckled when she made a comment about Dino's behavior, before he told.

"The young stallion is courting you," he said with amusement.

Harmony's face went into shock. Then she tilted her head.

"Young stallion?"

"Quest made a comment about how his men all call him 'Bucking Bronco' or 'Bucking Horse'. And he acts more like a gangly colt than a human, one who leads the herd but is awkward away from it."

Harmony snickered at that. She had already experienced the "infamous" klutziness of Dino when he tripped and knocked them both into a water trough. Fortunately she liked to keep those cleaned, so they just got a little wet and he apologized profusely.

The thing was she had no idea how one was supposed to react to being courted.

"For now simply accept his feelings towards you as genuine and allow the stars to fall where they may," said Firenze. "I have not seen many human courtships, but this one at least does not have the feel of being star-crossed like your parents."

"He's got the blessing of the lead unicorn, which is more than I can say about the last set of admirers I had," said Harmony. "That's good enough for me, even if I am uncertain how I'm supposed to feel about that. I have no idea what love is."

"Albus was wise in many things, but he extended himself too far for too long," said Firenze shaking his head.

It was part of the reason why the herd agreed to move along with the unicorns and to a lesser extent the thestrals. Though most of that herd stayed in the school as they pulled the carriages, the ones who hadn't been trained in that way had gone with Harmony to her new home and stayed primarily with the pegasus herds. She bought a lot of fresh meat from the butchers, though they thought she was spoiling her guard dogs. That or she liked meat.

The centaurs were _glad_ to be well away from the English fool's reach, especially since it was clear that Albus was too far gone in his own sense of accomplishment to see reason. He would be dead long before he realized the error in his judgment when it came to Harmony... especially when it came to things such as her living conditions and her 'safety'.

Though by unanimous agreement, Firenze was now the "spoke-centaur" for the herd. Harmony didn't interfere with their herd politics and they let Firenze deal with the only human they could reasonably tolerate. As long as the horses were happy, both sides could care less _what_ the other got up to on their own lands.

* * *

"Stupid Dino, I heard you've been visiting a certain ranch with increasing frequency of late."

"GAH!" yelped Dino, tripping on his own feet. Reborn always did enjoy causing that reaction. "Who told you?"

"I am all knowing, Stupid Dino."

And by that, Reborn meant Romario called him and mentioned it at one point. Dino seemed to making some headway at least, because the girl hadn't chased him off for visiting simply for the sake of seeing her. She clearly figured out what was going on, but was content not to bring it up.

Naturally Reborn was very interested in meeting her. Dino might be running his familigia full time now, but he was still Reborn's student. It wouldn't do for the klutz to marry the wrong person and bring it all crashing down.

Not that he was _worried_ about that. This "Harmony" seemed to be the sensible sort and ran a tight business. She was making a lot of money despite the amount it cost to maintain a ranch that large and only selling her animals to a select few who had earned her favor.

He just didn't want to see Dino hurt. Not unless it was from his chaotic behavior, that is.

Dino groaned. He was going to get whoever told Reborn about his interest in Harmony. Bringing in his former tutor was just not fair.

"I want to meet her."

Dino had a sudden, worrisome thought.

"No chaos around the horses. She's very protective of them and she might kick me out and ban me if she even _thinks_ I have any control of your actions."

Reborn smirked at him, which did not do anything good for his mellow.

However what Dino thought would happen and what _did_ were so far apart it wasn't even funny. Well it was, but only after the fact.

Harmony took one look at Reborn who played up the "I'm just a cute little toddler card", then at Dino. Her expression was flat and unimpressed.

"Really? Does he actually think I'll fall for his baby act?"

Reborn looked at her with interest.

"It's not like I have any say on what he does or where he goes," said Dino helplessly.

"I believe you. He practically radiates arrogance and smarm, except I'm betting he has the skills to back it up. I'll allow you here so long as you do not harm or startle the animals. And if you go into the forest you're on your own... I have no say in what happens to trespassers," she said bluntly.

"Interesting."

"While your curse seems odd, it's no concern of mine," she said dismissively.

Reborn's attention was immediately on her the second she said the word "curse".

"How do you know it's a curse?"

"Real infants would fidget wearing those sort of clothes and there's no way they'd be able to maintain their balance like you do on his shoulder. Plus that much self-confidence only comes from an adult, and I can feel the energy coming off that pacifier of yours. I have no idea _what_ that thing is, but I know it's cursed just from the feel of it," she said flatly. "If you want to know what really tipped me off, it was the eyes. They feel far too old and tired to possibly belong to a child."

Reborn stared at her, saying nothing.

"Stupid Dino, if you don't marry this girl I am going to make your life a living hell all over again," said Reborn, going to inspect the ranch. He wasn't much of a horse fan, but there was something off about this place.

Dino and Harmony blushed at the way Reborn had more or less given his blessing in such a back-handed manner.

"So who is he?"

"My former tutor," said Dino, still blushing. "He wanted to meet you after one of my men mentioned you offhand. How did you know he's not a toddler though?"

"Again, it was the eyes that tipped me off. If you look at them, and I mean _really_ look, you can see how tired and old he is. Real children still have a sort of 'innocence' and a sense wonder...but he's seen far too much and has come out rather apathetic about it all," she replied.

Dino made a note to actually LOOK at Reborn, or at least meet his eyes.

He was fascinated when he saw the exact same thing she did... Reborn was tired and rather apathetic about the world in general, though he tried to make up for it with his chaos. It was rather sad, actually.

Oddly, he seemed to gain a bit of wonder and amazement after they left the ranch. Like he had seen something that had given him a bit of that old spark of magic back, though it wasn't enough to overcome decades of experiences and far too many kills.

Dino wouldn't find out until long after the fact that Reborn had stumbled into the pegasus/thestral paddock and ended up meeting Quest...without the spells on his horn to keep it hidden from normal humans.

The unicorn had taken one look at Reborn and nuzzled him, allowing him to sit on his back while he 'inspected' the herds. Yes, he was a killer, but there was still some good left in him. Though it was mostly because of his Flames. Suns were primarily _healers_ after all, and his was particularly strong even if he had gone a different way.

Just seeing a unicorn and it allowing him to touch it had done wonders for his mood. And brought up a lot of questions he didn't want to answer _just_ yet.


	17. Heart of the Soul Chapter One

**This is a Ghost Hunt/KHR cross where Mai is a fem Tsuna.**

* * *

Mai was choking, suffocating on the fumes from the broken jars. She could feel her vision fading, her mind going blank.

She didn't want to die. She _wouldn't_ die if she had any say about it.

There was a pulse, deep in her soul. Resonating with the desire to _live_ , even if it killed her. To get out of this place or die trying.

That desire caused a roaring sensation in her mind. Almost like a dragon struggling against unseen bonds. Hearing the awful giggling of those _children_ , something snapped.

Brown eyes shifted to amber as the roar of an inferno burst from her soul and through her body. She sent the children running, as an orange shape slammed out of the barricade and past the windows. She wouldn't know this until after, but a massive _beast_ made of orange fire flowed past the windows and caused all of them to shatter just from proximity to it. Fortunately one of the cameras _was_ aimed in the general direction of the now shattered windows, so she at least got a good look at what it was.

"Mai!"

Mai was beyond anything at the moment. The second the beast chased off the children and the door slammed open, she blacked out.

* * *

 _Naru POV..._

"What happened."

It wasn't a question. Naru was openly _pissed_ that Mai was unconscious and that the _thing_ clearly originated from the room she was in. Worse, he could clearly feel her fever spiking any time they went anywhere near the infirmary, which meant Ayako had to treat her in the base.

Even he was at a loss to explain what the hell that thing was, or where it came from. Because it _definitely_ wasn't part of the haunting they were supposed to be investigating.

"I don't know! One minute we're about to investigate one of the areas, the next there's this roaring sound from the other side of the building and the entire place shook!" said Ayako.

"It was quite startling, and it felt nothing like the spirits around us... it was almost _alive_ ," said Masako, quite shaken.

John came back with a camera that had evidently fallen over and broken...but Naru could care less about that. They immediately reviewed the footage and all of them stared.

"...Is that a _dragon_ made of _fire_?" said Monk, in disbelief.

Rushing past the windows was a creature that could only be identified as a dragon. Though it seemed closer to the Eastern variants, as opposed to their winged cousins. There were clearly defined scales, massive talons and sharp fangs. The entire thing was made up of orange flames...though it almost looked like there was something indigo near the center of it.

Whatever it was melted the windows to the point they shattered outward.

Sensing movement, Naru turned to Mai. She was blinking slowly, as if she wasn't fully awake. He pressed a hand on her forehead, and found it was still warm...but had gone down considerably since they rescued her from the room.

"Nngh... Where am I?" she groaned.

"Easy. You inhaled a lot of those fumes, so you're going to be dizzy for a while. Just rest," said Ayako firmly.

Mai blinked from her spot, before holding her head with a puzzled look on her face.

"What is it?" asked Naru.

"I don't feel that headache anymore."

"Headache?" repeated Ayako.

"Ever since I started working for SPR, I've had this constant migraine. I thought it was from trying to read the books you let me borrow... but it's gone. And it always got worse around spirits."

Naru knew Mai was at least _trying_ to fill the gaps in her knowledge about the spiritual and supernatural. She would borrow some of his reference books and attempt to translate them during work whenever they weren't being pestered by thrill seekers or idiots.

For some reason she always gained nasty migraines for her efforts though she was learning some. It was only bits and pieces, but she was definitely retaining some of it. Naru quizzed her whenever he was bored and would _gently_ (for him anyway) correct her. And she took good care of the books she borrowed, so he didn't mind.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Ayako slowly.

Naru knew about Mai's migraines. They only ever showed up when she was _actively_ trying to learn for some reason and got progressively worse the more difficult the material was.

He was honestly baffled as to why that was, because Mai wasn't an idiot like some of the people he had been forced to be _nice_ to in the past. She did have a brain, but the migraines made it very hard for her to retain anything or use it outside of dangerous situations. There was also the fact she was openly clumsy, but she had learned to cope by moving in a slow and deliberate manner.

Mai rolled her eyes.

"Four," she replied annoyed.

Ayako looked relieved.

"You are going to stay right here until morning. Until then we're going to have to find a way to explain what happened to all the windows."

"...Why am I here anyway? I would have thought you'd take me to the nurse's office."

"We _would_ have, if your fever didn't spike every time we came close to it," said Naru flatly.

John had an odd look on his face.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a ghost that frequented that office?" he asked.

Dead silence.

"You don't think she was instinctively reacting to that, do you?" asked Monk.

"Well what _other_ explanation for why her fever spikes near that office, but not when we brought her here?" demanded Ayako.

Because that was the only _logical_ explanation she could think of for why Mai reacted like that when she wasn't even awake.

* * *

 _ **Mai's Dream POV...**_

 _Almost immediately upon realizing she was in a dream, she felt steel bands around her shoulders. It took her a second to realize it was the weird Naru double that always showed up on a case...and rarely outside it._

" _Are you alright?" he asked, looking openly concerned._

" _I'm fine. Exhausted and still groggy from the fumes, but fine."_

 _He looked relieved._

" _Hey Naru... what was that dragon the others saw? Masako said it didn't feel anything like the spirits in the school."_

 _Naru looked openly amused._

" _That was your power, set free from a barrier that was forcibly keeping it in check."_

" _A barrier?"_

" _Have you ever wondered why you were always so clumsy or had such bad migraines?"_

 _Mai's eyes widened._

" _How..."_

" _Someone put a seal on your powers... How, I have no idea because I didn't know that was possible. But it's the reason why we had to be at just the right frequency for us to talk, which for some reason only ever happens during a case. Now though... now I can use your soul as a beacon to find you every time," said the Naru double, looking very pleased at this fact. "With that seal broken, you should be able to use your powers properly, instead of just 'receiving' signals."_

" _What."_

" _The seal was keeping you from astral walking on your own. Once I find you, I'll show you the trick to it so you don't end up collapsing out of nowhere and freaking everyone out."_

 _Mai blinked, before she really_ looked _at the Naru double. She had always thought it weird that Naru never commented on the fact that she kept running into him in her dreams. In fact he was rather baffled as to why she kept getting such awful migraines in the first place._

 _That, and he was still hugging her rather tightly, as if worried she might wander off._

 _Now that she was properly looking at him, she noticed something even more odd._

 _He had a thick indigo/blue/yellow haze, as opposed to the odd green/red/purple haze that Naru always had._

" _You're not Naru are you?"_

 _He smiled and it made her heart do a funny little flip._

" _No, I'm his brother. Don't say anything to him just yet, because he won't be able to find me with the way he's been looking... the vision had too few details for him to find me. But I might be able to find you instead... though I have the feeling I'm not exactly going to be much for visitors once I do."_

" _So what should I call you then?"_

" _Eugene."_

 _"Yuujin? Who on earth would name their son 'friend'? From now on I'm just going to call you Yuu-chan, because that's far less embarrassing," she said flatly. "... You're not going to tell Naru are you?"_

" _About the fact you like him? If that idiot scientist hasn't picked it up by now I'd be surprised. Then again, he always was a bit thick headed when it came to his emotions. I was always the more empathetic one," said the newly named Yuu-chan cheerfully. He hugged her a little tighter. "Of course if he hasn't picked it up, I know the perfect way to get him to figure it out for himself."_

 _Mai had a bad feeling about this. Not the "I'm about to be in great danger" kind of way, but more of the "My life is about to become needlessly complicated and vexing"._

 _Pretty much the same feeling she got every time she even remotely considered admitting her feelings for Naru, right before she remembered Masako liked him as well. Though perhaps infatuation was a better way of describing it._

 _Masako clearly didn't see Naru... all she saw was a cute boy she could blackmail into dates._

 _That had never ceased to piss Mai off, but she wasn't about to interfere because she knew Naru wouldn't appreciate it._

 _Besides...right now it just felt nice being held while she felt so sick. It had been a long time since anyone stayed with her like that._

* * *

Mai woke up and felt a thousand times better...if a bit stiff. That's when she saw what was right next to her and a monumental blush was on her face. She barely registered Lin passing by with a cup of fresh tea.

Naru was leaning against the lone couch in the room, and it was very clear he had been there the entire night. Someone (likely Lin) had put a blanket over him.

Lin eyed the two and inwardly sighed.

He knew perfectly well Naru happened to like Mai, and not in a "friends" sense or in the coldly professional way he was with Ms. Hara. Honestly that foolish medium had no sense.

However the two of them were firmly in a 'holding' position because while Mai clearly liked him as well, she wasn't going to provoke Masako. And considering they occasionally needed a medium, the two were stuck.

At least until that idiot girl got it through her head that Naru had zero romantic interest in her. He was only humoring her because Madoka and his parents would never let him hear the end of it for being openly rude.

There were times like this though, that Naru actually let his guard down around her.

Hence why he said nothing, though he did take a few pictures for blackmail and sent a couple to Naru's parents.

Needless to say they were openly thrilled and demanded details.

He was almost to the computer when he realized something.

Normally, his shiki lazily drifted around him and occasionally went near Mai out of curiosity. As if they sensed something about her that was like catnip to them.

Now they looked torn between drifting much closer than normal, or avoiding her completely. As if they were afraid of something.

Seeing Naru stir, Lin smirked. He wondered when the boy would notice that Mai was hugging him from behind...or if she'd remove her arms before he was fully awake. Naru wasn't much of a morning person.

He discreetly took a picture of the scene, and was rather pleased at the wide eyed look Naru had very briefly when he registered what was going on. The Davis were going to _love_ this one.

"Well it's about time!" said Ayako loudly.

Thankfully Masako wasn't quite up yet and was still brushing her teeth. However Ayako had woken up early to check on Mai.

Mai blushed red like a tomato, and Naru just blinked. He wasn't entirely awake, though if he were he'd still be able to keep his blush off his face.

"Ayako!" hissed Mai.

"Come on, anyone with eyes could tell you like him. I'm just glad I got to see it before Masako blows up about it," said Ayako grinning.

He really shouldn't do this...but Naru gave him enough headaches and this was a harmless bit of payback.

"I have pictures," said Lin. Ayako's eyes gleamed with glee. Naru glared at him. "I'm sure his parents are going to enjoy them as well."

And unfortunately for Naru, Lin had already sent it to his computer a few moments before Ayako walked in.

"Can you keep it down? I still have a headache," said Mai.

Ayako went straight into doctor mode, though she was openly amused. She was waiting for one of them to make a move on the other for _months_ now. Hell, even John and the monk picked it up, and from the way Masako sometimes glared at Mai when Naru was being nice to her, it was pretty obvious she suspected something but didn't dare confirm it.

"I'm just saying it's about time you admitted you like him," she said grinning, checking the younger girl over.

Mai grimaced.

"Well until he admits it himself or he gets rid of Masako's infatuation with him..." she muttered. Ayako patted Mai on the head with sympathy.

Yeah, she could absolutely understand Mai not wanting to get between a pissed off fan girl and her prey. While she might have admitted she had a thing for Naru sooner, right now they were better off keeping it quiet.

Especially since they were still on a case.

Didn't mean Ayako was planning to give up teasing her though. She had to have some fun.

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

Matsuyama- _sensei_ (he really didn't deserve that title, in their opinion) was absolutely _livid_ about the broken windows and the lock.

Surprisingly it was Mai who shut him up rather fast, and without any powers to boot.

"Really. So it's _our_ fault that _YOUR_ school has a faulty gas pipe and doesn't bother to secure their shelves properly? All of our liability forms cover _supernatural_ incidents and standard job-site accidents. It does NOT cover preexisting conditions to the buildings or locations we're investigating, especially when it could have very easily been one of your students that could have gotten hurt! By all rights I could very easily sue you and this school for having an unsafe environment! I'm sure the students would love to have an excuse to go after you!" said Mai angrily.

Everyone stared at Mai for a second, before Naru spoke up.

"She's right. The insurance forms the principal signed only cover job-related injuries or standard accidents, not something caused by negligence and unsecured shelves. Legally she would have more than enough cause to take you to court and from the way the students react they'd almost certainly join in on a heartbeat if they knew it was possible," said Naru, glaring at him.

"For all we know you set up the lab so that anyone who walked in there after hours would end up dead from suffocation," said Mai vindictively.

It was no secret that Matsuyama-sensei hated the SPR team and would have been glad to be rid of them.

Seeing the man pale at the mere _thought_ they might accuse him of attempting to kill Mai was rather satisfying. Though not as much as the speculative look on Yasuharu's face when he spoke to Mai after the 'teacher' ran with his tail between his legs.

"Were you serious about that? The gas leak I mean."

"Well I did smell gas, and there was an explosion of sorts, but I'm pretty sure most of that was from the broken jars. I wasn't kidding about the part where I'd sue him if he annoyed me any more though."

"Uh, actually Mai..." said Monk sheepishly. She looked at him. "There is a faulty gas line in that room. Though it could have been caused by that explosion, but it looks old. This was a disaster waiting to happen from the start."

"So we really are hallucinating these things?" asked Yasu, almost disappointed.

"No way would a gas leak explain those dog bites in a class halfway across the school."

"Or the broken floor in the nurse's office," said Monk without thinking.

"What?!"

"Ayako was getting some more medical supplies just in case your concussion got any worse, and the floor suddenly caved in. She barely made it out of there before she fell with it," said Monk.

Mai was really pale now.

"Guess it's a good thing your fever kept spiking whenever we tried to bring you near it. If you had been in one of those beds you could have been seriously hurt or worse," he finished.

"Right, I think the students should all stage a boycott of attending any more classes until this is over... or that complete ass is fired," said Mai flatly, very pale.

"Boycott?" asked Yasu, almost looking interested in the idea.

"Well it's pretty clear the teachers don't actually _care_ about their students, or they've given up on caring. So until they get the message that something is wrong with this school or their behavior, I say boycott. It's not illegal to skip school and having so many students missing is really bad publicity for it...especially if the reporters get wind of _why_ you're doing it. At the very least it'll force them to realize you mean business."

Yasuhara openly seemed to like this idea. They had mostly been tolerating it with resignation...it had never occurred to them that skipping school en masse would force the teachers to do something or deal with the inevitable publicity and rumors from the media.

"I think we should try that. At the very least we can organize study groups for the younger students until they get the hint or we transfer to a new school," said Yasuhara.

And the best part was that the teachers couldn't really retaliate. It was a peaceful protest by the students who were affected, though they would need the majority of them for it to work.

Yasuhara was already making a note of who to talk to in order to get everyone on board with the idea.


	18. A Clouded Heart Chapter One

He never thought he'd say this, but he hated Hogwarts. He hated magic. He just plain _loathed_ the sheer stupidity of people who thought a freaking stick and some fancy lights made them superior to everyone else.

And right now, facing down the same monster that killed his parents and made one hell of a concerted effort to kill him as well.

Honestly, why did he keep coming back for more abuse? He had to deal with a shitty summer, then an equally nasty build up that always seemed to start around Halloween and end with a massive fight sometime after exams were over.

And it wasn't like he was compensated or had any actual back up. His friends were alright...but they were too wrapped up in themselves to be very good in a real combat situation. Their morals would keep them from doing what was necessary when the time called for it.

So looking at the people surrounding the graveyard, and knowing what he would likely face when he went back... he made a decision.

"Dobby."

The house elf appeared in a near silent pop that went unnoticed in the general din of the wizards trying to find him.

"You calls for Dobby?"

"Dobby, when I give the signal I want you to take me home. And I don't mean that house with the horse and pigs. I mean my real home."

Dobby nodded, before hiding himself. Not like the wizards noticed.

He slipped past the wizards, and spotted the portkey...and Cedric. He used his wand to levitate the goblet onto Cedric's body, before throwing one of the twin's fireworks up in the air to cause a distraction.

One of the Death Eaters got a lucky shot with a cutting curse, right before Dobby delivered him far, far from England.

" _Shit! He's injured! Someone grab the med kit!"_ shouted a voice in Russian.

" _Hang in there, brat."_

He woke up a few hours later in a familiar trailer looking at worried faces.

"You had us worried brat," said a man gruffly, in accented English. "What happened?"

" _Trap. Ambush. Not going back,"_ he replied in choppy Russian.

"...Explain brat."

He sat up with a pained expression.

"I was set up. There was a tournament between schools and I was entered against my will and forced to compete. Entire thing was a trap set for me. Managed to escape after the ambush was sprung. Idiots will be looking all over the UK for me," he explained, leaning against one of the pillows.

The older man grunted.

"Want your old job back?"

He nodded.

"Good. Replacement is barely acceptable. Lions will be happy to have their cub back."

He grinned.

The Immortal Skull would ride again, and this time he wasn't going to make the same mistake of going back to that school.

* * *

Skull looked in the mirror and grinned. Purple hair, purple eyes and just the right amount of make up to make his normally pale complexion even more ghostly. Also, it hid that damn scar that everyone would be looking for.

He made sure the left over dye in his hair was washed out properly, before drying it with a black towel. Once that was done, he slipped into his old gear that the circus kept on hand just for him. It might have been five years since he was last with them, but they still loved him as one of their own.

He whistled as he went to feed the lions, who loved him so much that he actually cuddled with them when he was younger in their cages.

It had given the poor animal tamers a heart attack the first time, until they realized that for some bizarre reason the predator animals all considered him one of their own. Especially the lone snake, who adored him and would get snippy every so often without him there to translate what she wanted.

Thanks to the fact he finally had money of his own, he was able to buy an RV, though if they were pulled over he had to switch seats with one of the older troupe members since he was _technically_ too young to drive.

Which was ironic considering he was hired as a stunt driver and part time animal tamer when one of the others fell sick.

With Dobby's help, it was promptly expanded to something closer to a house, though it wasn't like anyone would notice since most assumed that the very small door lead to an equally cramped closet. It was actually the 'front door' to the magically expanded section. As far as the troupe knew, he stored most of his gear in the closet, and it was so small that merely opening it would send everything falling on the poor idiot to do so.

Hedwig hooted from her perch in the RV. Dobby had retrieved everything and removed any possible spells on the things he wanted to keep, along with removing Hedwig before anyone had the mind to use her to track him down.

"You ready for tonight's show, Skull?" asked Ivan.

"I am now! Got my lucky color on!" said Skull cheerfully. And he had Dobby stocking up on enough potions to supply a small clinic. Especially skelegrow and bruise balm.

Like he was going to brew his own with how often he moved. He wasn't that stupid.

Skull grinned as he put on his lucky helmet. He could hear the crowd cheering from behind the curtain.

He wondered how any of them would react, knowing that the stuntman wasn't even fifteen (not for another two weeks) yet.

Revving up the engine, his grin widened even more seeing the Ring of Fire. At an unseen signal, he took off and did a flip while _inside_ the ring before making a smooth landing. And that was just the opening act.

Sphere of Death? Don't make him laugh. He could do that in his sleep and half drunk. He was the World's Greatest Stuntman.

" _Let's hear it for Skull de Mort, a man so skilled that Death itself owes him money!"_

Skull snickered. He had coined that one as a joke, and it had been so funny that the ringmaster insisted on using it. He waved at the crowds, before driving out of the tent.

He loved his job.

He leaned back in his special recliner and turned on the TV. It wasn't his turn to cook, and he just wanted to relax. Butterbeer in hand, he let any stress in his body wear off.

Today had been a good day.

He was woken up a few hours by someone banging on the door. Glaring at it, he brushed his hair back and walked over.

" _Yes?"_ he said in Russian.

" _Police inspection."_

Skull rolled his eyes. Surprise police inspection his ass. The cops in this area were corrupt as hell and were just looking for an excuse to fine the circus.

" _I'll get ready for this so-called inspection then."_

Once the door closed, Skull immediately called for Dobby and Winky.

"Make sure the corrupt morons see nothing and leave with nothing. Hedwig, can you stay in the expanded part? These people are annoying enough about our animal acts and their papers. I don't want them asking about an owl," said Skull.

Hedwig hooted and allowed Dobby to carry her into the magically expanded area. Winky was already busy making things so perfectly boring that most cops would ignore everything in the vehicle. Skull really, really didn't like people messing with his things.

She was just glad he was kind enough to hire her at all. Originally he had done so by saying she could likely earn her place back with the Crouch family by showing she was such a good worker that they would have to take her back... but then she found out from the goblins that the Crouch line was dead.

Skull had held her through the entire thing, and even sat with her the entire night while they drank butterbeers until morning.

It hurt...but Master Skull was kind and let her mourn her old family properly and gave her simple tasks that were easy to complete. A month later she managed to come out of her funk and decided to be the best elf Master Skull had ever seen. She would not fail as a proper house elf a second time.

Even if Master Skull was a bit odd, letting her pick her uniform. It had taken some quick talking, but she had understood he wasn't demoting her for her shameful behavior. He was rewarding her with uniforms that told the world who she worked for with pride.

She didn't own them, and therefor it didn't count as him dismissing her from service.

Skull looked bored and just plain irritated as the corrupt cops went through every trailer looking for anything they could pin on the circus. The suspicious looks they kept shooting him were really annoying.

Fortunately he was more mature for his age than most kids, so they just thought he was a really short seventeen year old like his driver's license claimed he was.

Two hours later they left and Skull's good mood was thoroughly ruined.

Then Yelena handed him a fresh bowl of stew and it returned like magic.

The thirty-something trapeze artist always clucked at him and made sure anyone who neglected to finish whatever she gave them went hungry in short order. And she acted like a real mother to Skull, ever since he first came to the Cloud Circus.

Molly Weasley was a harpy who smothered any child she could get her claws on. Yelena was someone who let you make your own mistakes and patched you up with good food and a warm smile.

Skull dug in with glee. It didn't take long before he held out the bowl with a puppy-dog look.

"More please."

"Good boy," she said pleased.

Skull was far too skinny and the rare times they went over budget for the food, he made up the difference. He didn't _need_ to work for his paycheck (apparently his long dead father was _very_ rich), but he enjoyed it. He never complained even when the task was something as boring as cleaning after the animals or maintaining whatever grounds they set up shop in.

And he made a point of doing his homework online, thus negating any need for formal schooling. Considering his track record, it was probably for the best.

Skull was like a cloud who did best when drifting along on the breeze. Tying someone like him down was a horrible idea, and it had slowly been killing him inside.

* * *

Skull was sixteen and a half when he got the invitation to join the I Presceti Sette.

It sounded interesting, and from what he found out the 'assignments' rarely lasted very long. And he knew he could trust leaving his home with Yelena and the others. After all, the circus was where he belonged. Here, he could be free.

The first meeting with the others was almost a disaster.

He immediately pegged Renato as an abusive asshole, and tried to avoid being around him as much as possible.

Lal Mirch was a strict woman who reminded him strongly of McGonagall, except far more competent and a tsundere personality.

Viper was blunt, sarcastic and money obsessed. But he had the feeling that as long as you paid them what they demanded, they were absolutely loyal. At least they were honest about their motivations.

Verde was odd, and he really played up the 'mad scientist' feel. The looks he kept shooting them all gave him a feel that was almost like the Weasley twins testing out a new prank, only with far less morals.

Luce was bubbly, friendly, and appeared to be a nice person over all. Except there was something about her eyes that had him very suspicious about her intentions...more so than the others.

Fon... he was a wild storm contained only by strict discipline and hiding behind a serene smile. He was a martial arts master, and he felt rather kind overall.

Skull immediately opted to sit next to Fon. Catching a familiar scent on the Chinese martial artist, he immediately struck up a conversation about tea.

"So what's your preference? Green, black or Oolong?" asked Skull curious.

Fon blinked.

"I find oolong tea is pleasant, but I prefer green tea," he said cautiously.

"Never actually tried Oolong, but green tea is pretty good especially with a slice of lemon. I usually drink black tea though," said Skull.

Fon looked at him oddly for a moment, before a slow smile came upon his face.

"I find earl gray is particularly good," he admitted.

"You prefer loose leaf or bagged?" asked Skull.

"Loose leaf provides better flavor, though bagged is fine in a pinch. Less of a mess too," admitted Fon.

"I can bring some of my collection next time," said Skull cheerfully.

"I'd like that. It's hard to find anyone who appreciates a good cup of tea anymore," said Fon smiling.

"Are you two done?" said Renato with a drawl. He was a coffee drinker through and through, and thus found the discussion rather boring.

Skull rolled his eyes at him.

"If we're going to be working together, having something to make small talk about that can't be used against us would be useful," said Fon.

Skull blinked.

 _Used against us?_ He mentally repeated. He had a bad feeling about this already.

And it only got worse when he saw the assignment.

Say what you would about him, but he was not an idiot. He could read between the lines and without having to maintain an image of something he wasn't, he could see what that Checkerfaced bastard had neglected to mention.

Namely that the group he was planning to join (if only out of morbid curiosity) was part of the bloody _mafia_. Or at least had ties to the criminal underground.

Well, he wasn't one to turn down from a challenge.


	19. Flames of the Creed Chapter One

**_Just to be clear here, I only saw the Assassin's Creed movie. I have not play ANY of the games so ideas would be very appreciated. I just hope I did it justice._**

* * *

Amber eyes gazed out past the sky scraper he was crouching on. A second figure with eyes that were steel gray walked up behind him.

"You're going to be late," commented the second figure.

"Not like it matters, with how shitty the teachers are," said the first.

"You know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah. I have to at least go to two classes before you'll ignore the fact I'm skipping out early."

Clouds parted to reveal two teenagers in hooded shirts, and jeans that were well fitted. They had running shoes on in different colors.

The smaller one wore primarily white with orange accents and trims. The hood came down in a triangular shape, and covered half his face and obscured his eyes completely. There was a flame pattern on the back with an eagle that combined with the flames made it look more like a phoenix rising, with six other colors bleeding into the orange-colored fire. He wore dark gray pants that went down to his ankles that fit snugly, and a belt with several pockets attached. The buckle was that of an eagle with wings wide open, revealing some rather impressive feathers and a nasty looking beak that was deceptively sharp. The talons were just as bad, though they were 'rounded' with something that could be removed in a pinch. He had a runner's build, and was fairly short, especially in comparison to his companion/training partner.

The other teen had deep violet with thick streaks of indigo on his hoodie, and like the first boy his hood came down in a triangular shape over his face. His shirt had a similar eagle theme, though his was primarily violet with indigo bleeding into the purple. He wore a similar belt to the first, thought it had a pair of tonfas slipped through two of the loops on either side of his body. He had a runner's build, but it was very clear he had far more compact muscles and was built to deliver some truly _nasty_ blows with his primary weapons. On his shoulder was a red and gold band that read "Disciplinary Committee". A tiny canary flew to his shoulder and began chirping in a rather cheerful manner.

The smaller one sighed and used his enhanced sight before he moved away from the 'street view' and removed his hood. The hood itself obscured the eagle pattern neatly, and he was almost tempted to unzip the hoodie.

The smaller one had caramel color hair that looked almost like a lion's mane, and warm chocolate brown eyes that looked amber in the right light. He was tiny, and didn't seem like much.

The taller one had wind-swept hair as black as night, and eyes as cold as the metal they resembled. He had pale skin, purely Asian features and a rather...predatory...disposition. His left hand rested naturally on the tonfa at his side, as if he wasn't adverse to drawing it at a second's thought.

After a few moments the two 'vanished' from the public eye...only to reappear in completely different parts of the city.

Where the confident brunette was before was now a skittish teenager who acted like he would jump at his own shadow. He had the appearance of someone who had absolutely no confidence in himself and was very clumsy, often tripping on his own feet. His hoodie was wrapped around his waist, and very little of the unique characteristics could be seen. It also neatly hid his belt buckle though it didn't hurt that the front of his shirt was slightly loose at the front to create a sort of pocket that hid the eagle.

He briefly nodded in acknowledgment to his partner, and the other 'team' in the school. Everyone else in the place was either a civilian or were under his partner's control.

He hated high school.

* * *

It was an unspoken fact that the war between the Templar and the Assassins had gone on for as long as anyone could actually remember.

Just as it was an unspoken fact that both sides had general "safe areas" where one side had primary control over the town or city and where the other side was discreetly disposed of or driven off if found out.

One would think that the locations would be constantly in danger of being attacked by large groups...

Well, that was half-right. While groups of thirty or more were rather common when one side was exposed or pissed off the wrong number of people, for the most part there was an unspoken "truce" to leave the cities alone.

It was rather pointless to have large operations against each other if you had no idea who to target specifically...most of the 'controlled' cities were primarily filled with civilians after all, and secrecy was big between both groups. There was an unofficial understanding that they keep the "civilians" out of their fighting... if only to avoid the inevitable issue of governments, the military and various dictators from getting any 'big ideas' to use the highly trained killers, spies and infiltrators for their own benefit.

Sure, most of said groups were already under control by one side or another, but there were always outliers that could cause more headaches than they were worth. Never mind what immoral scientists would do with the knowledge they had.

No, for all intents and purposes it was easier to keep the civilians out of their fights. Anyone stupid enough to bring them in without a damn good reason usually ended up dead by the faction they belonged to.

For the most part, the two factions avoided said cities that were "known" to favor one far more heavily over the other, to the point that one faction basically had it under their control through the shadows.

Namimori was well known to be "Assassin" territory, to the point they had underground training facilities. And while everyone knew the Hibari "ran" the police, only a select handful was aware that the heir of that family also happened to be an almost fully trained Assassin in his own right, as was his permanent partner who was the ONLY person in the city who could reign in the worst of his "biting" habits.

Alas, even fewer were aware of his partner's "civilian" name to the point they could get him to intercede on their behalf.

However... there were times that a Templar was able to sneak in, find an Assassin or Assassin bloodline, and cause all sorts of trouble before they were put down. Usually in a rather permanent fashion.

Such was the case of Takeshi Yamamoto. When he was barely four, his mother was murdered in front of him by a Templar agent who somehow discovered her Assassin bloodline, despite the fact she was "retired" after giving birth to her son. She had married a professional Hit Man who gladly gave up that life to a more 'stable' setting after his son was born.

Tsuyoshi managed to capture the fool, but the damage was done. Takeshi's Assassin blood awakened when he had to defend himself from the Templar who tried to kidnap him, had his mother not come in the room in time to fight him off.

Tsuyoshi and Takeshi gained an eternal hatred of Templars that day. So much so that the now Sushi Chef didn't even argue when the Creed's district leader took Takeshi in for training a year later.

Within three years, another was brought in. He was a year older than Takeshi and had white hair and a fresh scar across his nose. He was also very _loud_.

"Extreme!"

Takeshi grinned as he observed his new permanent training partner.

Ryohei Sasegawa was originally a civilian, but whatever Assassin's blood he had in him woke up violent when a group of middle schoolers attempted to use his sister as a hostage.

Those boys were going to be in for a rather painful lesson from not only their parents, but the Hibari family. Targeting younger children, especially little girls (they were all teenagers) just to beat up someone who had been annoying you was a major no-no.

It was unlikely they would parole out of juvie any time before they hit eighteen for that stunt.

Takeshi was calm, and was rather "soothing" to be around. It was something he inherited from his father, apparently. Though he had yet to awaken that gift to the point he could do it deliberately.

Whereas Ryohei was energetic, all the time.

At least with the Creed he could put all that excess energy and fighting spirit to proper use. He would have been wasted as a civilian.

Besides, the two of them bonded over their respective sports and the conditioning needed to compete in them.

Takeshi yawned in class, which wasn't that unusual. He had spent all night training until one of the Master Assassins more or less kicked him out to sleep and get ready for school.

It wasn't like he _needed_ the high school degree, but it was a requirement that all trainees under eighteen attend a public or private school.

It was considered "training" in how to maintain a civilian cover. Though some people "flunked" out of regular training and needed the education.

Takeshi had always been a more hands on learner.

Hearing the familiar stumble, he could only cringe at seeing Tsuna Sawada crash into the classroom late again.

While Takeshi didn't have anything against the guy, it was hard for him to watch the kid stumble around like a skittish kitten and _not_ want to cringe at the thought of someone like him as an Assassin.

The guy wouldn't last a week before he accidentally offed himself, and he was easily frightened and bullied.

In short, he was not exactly someone who would handle the idea of a hidden war between Assassins and Templars...so Takeshi kept his distance. He wouldn't actively pick on him...Tsuna was bullied enough without his help...but he wouldn't help unless asked.

The only reason Takeshi didn't dismiss the boy outright as part of the scenery was because of his training.

Even the most timid mouse can bite and infect others with a deadly plague.

* * *

The day Ryohei learned about the Creed and the Templars, he had been a bit confused, and more than a bit leery of being around hardened killers.

Except... they had made sure the punks who almost hurt his sister were put away for what they did. They _understood_ his Extreme ways and even encouraged his love of boxing. They even introduced him to his best friend Takeshi, who would smile and cheerfully debate which was better...boxing or baseball.

They cherished his gifts and even improved his ability to fight without telling him it was wrong. Sure, he was a bit...reluctant... about the whole killing thing, but sometimes you had to be a man and put a more permanent end to a threat against your family.

What really sold him was the fact that the Creed always had watchers on his sister and parents. They kept Kyoko and Hana safe from being taken and used against him ever again, because Ryohei was one of their own.

For the first time in his life, he belonged to something bigger than himself.

And he wouldn't trade it for anything.

* * *

"Tsu-kun! You won't believe what I got in the mail today!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna listened to his mother talk about the home tutor she called, while internally cringing.

He was already texting the Creed to investigate who had been in the area that morning... the note was too sloppy to be printed and he quickly swiped it from his mother to have it analyzed.

Within hours, he received a text that had him slipping out of the way to find Hibari.

His partner would need to know about this development.

The Prefect didn't even raise an eyebrow as Tsuna slipped into the room. He quietly locked the door without a word.

"We have a problem."

Hibari didn't ask, merely pulled out his phone to get the same report Tsuna had on his own. The cells were encrypted to the Nth degree and were locked so that only their bio-metrics could unlock or use most of the functions.

"So the Vongola are attempting to reclaim the heir they threw out. Did they ever determine...?"

"It was never confirmed," said Tsuna darkly. "Which means this could very well be a Templar trap."

Hibari had a cold look on his face.

"Back-up?"

"It would be appreciated," he admitted. "I'm not stupid enough to go against the Sun Arcobaleno, even if this is my home turf."

Hibari nodded in agreement.

When he had first been paired up with his partner, he had scoffed at the idea of having to watch the annoying herbivore who yelped at every little thing.

Except... Tsuna was anything _but_ an herbivore. In the course of a week Hibari had reevaluated his initial assumption of his partner into something closer to that of a small falcon or possibly a panther.

Tsuna wasn't bulky. He wasn't a particularly good shot without the Eagle Eyes. He wasn't smart, or naturally inclined to fighting.

No, Tsuna was the sly, cunning Assassin who relied more on speed rather than pure physical strength. The kind of person who could walk right past the target and kill them with a lethal poison with them none the wiser until it was far too late.

The fact he had a fixation on heights and was actually the first to master the art of diving off large buildings and the Leap of Faith was something of an amusing quirk of his.

It was much more understandable when one took into account that he had Sky Flames. He had narrowly avoided having them sealed when his Assassin's blood warned him about the house that day, and had fled to the first "safe" adult he could find.

Ironically that turned out to be Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, who had recognized Tsuna for what he was immediately and hide the child until the threat had left Namimori.

The same couldn't be said of Nana. They still had no idea what the possible Templar sympathizers had done to the woman to seal her Assassin's blood and her gifts. Worse, they had tampered with her memories so that she had no recollection of what was wrong.

Tsuna might "live" in the house, but his home was the dorms that he shared with Hibari. More than once he had crashed in his partner's mansion rather than risk the house.

Coincidentally that always seemed to happen every time his "Father" decided to actually come home to visit. Tsuna avoided Iemitsu like the plague. Though at this point it was mostly instinctive, since he honestly had no idea what the man even looked like anymore.

Tsuna suddenly snickered.

"What's so funny?"

"Takeshi has no idea I'm an Assassin. You should see how much he cringes every time I do my klutz routine in class, or the fake yelps I let off whenever something new happens. He has no idea whether to avoid me or try and reach out...it's hilarious."

Hibari blinked, before he slowly started chuckling at the image.

Tsuna must be having so much fun messing with his fellow trainee. While they were 'aware' that there was another pair in the school it wasn't like Ryohei or Takeshi even knew what their civilian identities looked like.

The only reason Tsuna and Kyouya knew was because Ryohei had a bad habit of saying "extreme" too often and Takeshi always had the same fake laugh.

It was pretty easy to guess they were the other team, even if they didn't really 'mix' during school hours.


	20. X-Flame Chapter One

**For those of you with pets, I have Go Fund Me page. Just add /tsukis-vet-visit to find it. It'll also link you straight to my facebook profile and I do accept friend requests!**

 **Also, this is just a gen!X-Men/KHR cross.**

* * *

The first time Tsubaki met her grandfather (on her mother's side), was when she was three. Her father had gone away again, leaving just the girls at home.

The man was tall, grumpy, and there was a distinct air about him that reminded her of a big bear. But when he looked at her, there was a sense of 'safety' and 'protection'.

She knew without hesitation that he would never harm her in any way, which was more than could be said about her father.

" _That lout gone again?"_ he asked her mother. The words were strange, and she didn't understand them.

" _Iemitsu said he would visit often. He left last month and he sends enough money to pay for bills and groceries."_

" _Sending money isn't the same as_ being _there,"_ said her grandfather gruffly, as if he wasn't pleased with something.

He gently picked up Tsubaki and put her in his lap. She promptly curled up against him, and fell asleep. He had come right before her nap time, after all.

Nana looked at how quickly her daughter took to her grandfather. The man wasn't exactly the most _civil_ of people, but his sense of honor more than made up for any faults. The fact Tsubaki curled up in his lap like a little kitten said volumes of the level of trust she was showing him. She saw past his gruff exterior.

Nana sometimes wondered how her husband would have reacted if he knew exactly _who_ he was marrying. Her father had never approved of her husband, but had kept his silence so long as she was happy.

Logan looked down at the little one in his lap, before looking at his daughter. He took a piece of paper and wrote down a set of numbers.

The first was his, the second was a mansion in New York, and the third was for emergencies only.

"If anything, and I mean anything comes up, I want you to call the first two numbers. If you're in life-threatening danger and the first two aren't available, call the third," he said bluntly.

Nana nodded, and tapped the note on the bottom of the phone.

"What about Tsu-chan?"

"If it manifests I can train her during the summers. Though if it's dangerous I'll take her with me until she can learn to control it."

The visit was short, but at the end of it Tsubaki knew one thing for certain.

She adored her grumpy grandfather.

* * *

 _Tsubaki, age five..._

Nana was frowning at the report she got from the teachers. Ever since Iemitsu last came with those strange men, Tsubaki had been acting off. At the first hint of it she had taken her daughter in for a _full_ physical, suspecting something was wrong.

Tsubaki hadn't wet the bed since she was four, and suddenly it had started up again without warning after the visit. Her behavior had gone from cheerful and outgoing to skittish and afraid. Her grades had dropped and she seemed to flinch at raised voices.

When the physical came up with nothing, Nana made a decision that would change her daughter's childhood.

She called her father.

" _Hello?"_

"Papa, it's Nana. I have a problem with Tsubaki and I have no idea how to fix it."

" _What happened?"_ the voice became territorial and concerned.

"Iemitsu came two months ago with strange men, and after they left Tsubaki's behavior changed completely. I had her taken to the doctors, but they said nothing was _physically_ wrong with her and I know she was starting to display certain signs of awakening some of your gifts. She has your advanced regeneration at the very least."

" _...I'll be in Japan with a friend by next week."_

Nana felt only relief. If anyone could figure out what was going on with her daughter, she knew her father or his 'friends' could.

And when she saw him and the man in the wheelchair with kind tired eyes, she relaxed. She knew who the man was, and that he was trustworthy.

"Where's the little tiger?" asked Logan.

Nana had just picked her up, and Tsubaki was sleeping. There had been an increase of bruises and scrapes after the visit, which was one of the reasons why she was so worried.

She feared Tsubaki was being actively bullied by the other children.

"This is a friend of mine named Xavier. He's a telepath," said Logan gruffly.

"Come in, please. Tsu-chan is asleep... I'm afraid she had another rough day at school," said Nana.

With the help of Logan, Professor Xavier was able to get inside the house.

Logan also picked up Tsubaki and brought her downstairs. He frowned at the number of bruises she had, some healed.

"So you're saying her personality shifted after your husband came home for a visit?"

"It was so sudden. She was fine when I went to get groceries for some Italian dishes, then the next morning her personality took a complete turn," said Nana. "Iemitsu told me she exhausted herself playing, so I didn't think anything of it when I came home and she was asleep, but I knew something had to be wrong when her grades started slipping and she became far too skittish," said Nana. "After two weeks is when I suspect the rest of her class decided to start bullying her...that's around the time I noticed the bruising, though they fade by morning."

Logan gently put Tsubaki on the couch, close enough to the Professor.

He put one hand on her forehead and skimmed her most recent memories going back three months.

What he found had him very unhappy with one Iemitsu Sawada and the men he brought.

"Your husband had her gifts sealed, rather than trained. Considering she might be a low-level telepath or psychic, it means she is instinctively fighting against whatever they put on her. And since she knows something is wrong or missing, she is afraid because she can't access it to defend herself," said Xavier.

"Can it be fixed?"

"With some training it could be, but there is no way to tell. Whatever this seal is, it's forcibly keeping her powers from manifesting outside of the advanced regeneration you noticed," said Xavier frowning.

"Which means she'll be spending her summers with her grandfather and any further visits from Iemitsu," said Nana flatly. She looked furious. "I will not let that fool near my daughter alone twice."

"About time you saw some sense," said Logan gruffly.

Tsubaki woke up around dinnertime and she lit up when she saw her grandfather.

"Grandpa! You're back!"

"Unlike some people, I don't mind little tigers," said Logan, allowing her to scramble up onto his lap. Xavier hid a smile. It was clear that the older mutant was very fond of the child.

"Tsu-chan, how would you like to spend summer with your grandpa and his friends?"

Tsubaki lit up at the idea.

"Can I, mama?"

She loved spending time with her grandfather.

"How about we make a family vacation of it soon?" suggested Nana, sharing a look with Logan. While she didn't have an active mutation, she was still the daughter of a mutant.

Tsubaki spent the next few hours playing with her grandfather, while her Mama and the strange old man in the wheelchair hammered out details.

Until whatever was keeping her powers held back was removed, or at least loosened up enough that she could defend herself, the two would be spending some time in America.

* * *

Harmony loved her new home, for however temporary it was. The Professor had said her mutant ability, or whatever it was that was forcibly taken from her, wasn't an active threat to normal humans so long as she was in a safe environment.

However, because she felt the loss so strongly there was simply no way she could function normally with a normal class of students. Her skittish behavior alone was a big red flag for bullies to target her.

Which was why the Institute was perfect for her. Any difficulty she had with the homework would automatically be attributed to the fact she had lived in Japan until now, and wasn't used to reading in English.

Not that her lessons in how to read Kanji and the rest was allowed to fall by the wayside. Logan took her step-by-step in how to read her native tongue. She found languages easier to understand than math.

Even her Mama was enjoying herself, though she was acting as the on-sight cooking teacher, since she didn't have a degree. She taught the children how to cook and other daily tasks that they would need to survive as an adult. Her open and caring nature (despite not having an active mutation) made her an instant hit with the students.

For some she was like the mother they never had, or a replacement for the families who abandoned them.

"Hey Harmony... you ready for lessons?" asked an older student. She was about sixteen but she had really good control over her powers.

Her name was Jean.

Harmony nodded. She liked Jean and the others, because they were able to explain things for her in a way she could understand clearly. And they didn't laugh at her when she fumbled during her gymnastics and martial arts lessons.

Harmony dutifully followed Jean into one of the rooms designated for training. This one had a lot of soft things to throw around and was generally the go-to place for telepaths to practice their powers safely. There wasn't anything sharp or hard to hurt others with, and it meant they could have a rather unusual pillow fight with their powers.

Harmony sat down on the floor next to one of the other psychics. They all knew what they were supposed to do, depending on what their powers were.

"Everyone remember the lesson from last week? Okay, I want you to try and levitate the pillows above your head and hold it for five minutes. Harmony, we're going to continue what we were doing before," said Jean.

Jean and Harmony sat across from each other, and tried to find the block that was keeping her mutant powers closed off. The physical abilities like her advanced regeneration hadn't been affected, but the mental ones like her ability to understand simple homework and possibly a low-level degree of telepathy and empathy were.

There was also a brief memory of fire, and from what Xavier could tell that was genetic and entirely because of her father. Which meant she might be pyrokinetic.

From what Xavier managed to pull out of that particular memory, Iemitsu wasn't surprised she _could_ use the fire, but that it had awakened so early and because of the color. He didn't understand the significance of orange flames, but the fact that the old man (which Harmony had been made to call "grandpa" for the entirety of his visit) had a similar fire on his hands when he sealed her said that this wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Iemitsu or his side of the family.

The fact Iemitsu chose to seal her powers, rather than stay and train her properly said volumes of his character. He would have to do a lot of explaining before Nana allowed him anywhere near her daughter ever again. The fact that the old man had _known_ how to forcibly seal the flames to begin with said that they knew perfectly well how to train them.

Harmony was frustrated. She could _feel_ the wall in front of her, but she couldn't get past it to reach Jean.

So she gathered up the pretty orange fire around her and threw it at the barrier between them. After a while, she began to notice tiny cracks in the wall.

Harmony smiled, and gathered up the fire in her hands and started punching at the biggest crack in front of her. She did her best not to deviate from that one spot.

The crack started to widen, until a tiny pin-prick could be seen. Once the hole went clean through, she could hear Jean's voice loud and clear.

That was when she woke up, and she felt exhausted.

"I think that's enough for today," said Jean. She sounded fuzzy and far away. Harmony passed out before she could ask anything.

She woke up in her mother's lap, and she felt a little warmer.

"How are you feeling, little tiger?" asked Logan.

"Not so cold," she replied, she yawned and curled closer into her mother.

Logan chuckled.

"Once you're up to it we're going to keep working on what you did with Jean earlier. You managed to make some progress against that seal today, so just get some sleep."

Harmony nodded and let her eyes drift closed.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that her grandfather was going to step up her fighting skills. Ever since she came to the Institute he had been drilling her in how to fight and how to take a hit. He didn't pull punches (much), but her advanced healing always had a major work out after one of his lessons.

What she didn't know was that it was because of her advanced regeneration that she was still alive. The seal was much stronger than she was at the moment, and it was thanks to the fact she healed so fast she didn't have a brain aneurysm from the strain of fighting against it.

With any luck the 'hole' she made in the seal would become much bigger.

* * *

 _One week later..._

The Professor watched as Harmony used her hard-won fighting skills and her instinctual knowledge to widen the 'hole' she had made in the seal. He could see cracks forming from the other side, but there was no way he could help her break through. He had noticed her ability to comprehend her schoolwork and her movements had gone up since the hole was made.

Whatever this seal was it hindered her brain's ability to function properly. Her motor skills were almost completely shot when it came to simple things like running.

Seeing her tiring, and the hole almost as big as a dime, the professor called off the exercise. Harmony immediately passed out from exhaustion.

Within a month, that hole was the size of a quarter. Within two, it was big enough for her to fit a hand through...and coincidentally was too weak to fully contain whatever it was that they didn't want to train.

It was still there, but at least her skittish behavior had dropped completely and she wasn't such a mess when it came to physical activity.

By the time Harmony was eight (and Nana got a letter from Iemitsu saying he'd be visiting the house for a bit), the girls were reluctantly getting ready to go home. Some of the older, 'graduated' mutants were going to move to the area to help Harmony keep up her training.

Logan had been disgusted when he found out there wasn't even a single guard around the neighborhood, considering he had long found out what Iemitsu did for a living. And there hadn't been any questions on where the girls had vanished to for three years.


	21. Sky Bunny Chapter One

**In case it isn't obvious... this is YGO/KHR cross. I was very bored and couldn't help myself. Also, who else saw that epic eclipse earlier?  
**

* * *

She gulped as her turn came up. She had grabbed the first headband she could find since she didn't have time to actually brush her hair, and this was _literally_ her only chance to get away from that horrible nickname that had followed her for _years_.

No one back home wanted to hire her... they all knew she was a total klutz, rather slow witted and attracted trouble like no one's business. It wasn't her fault... it was just that for some reason delinquents tended to target her first over more attractive targets and by extension wherever she was working.

Her only job before this had been washing dishes, and while the owner was a nice man who took her clumsiness in stride... but the pay was barely worth it.

If she ever wanted to leave that town once and for all, she needed money. Her allowance was pitiful, and the pay from her dish washing job was just enough to pay for a few small things.

When her name was called, she squeaked but went in.

The possible employer was terrifying, but thankfully at a level she was already familiar with.

It was like dealing with a snarlier, angrier Hibari. One who hated people but was forced to be _nice_ (or as close as he could get) to them on a daily basis.

Seto Kaiba reminded her rather strongly of an unhappy dragon, one that was forced to deal with humans regularly despite how much he would prefer to never leave his cave.

She was on familiar ground now. He clearly didn't want to deal with a bunch of unknowns, so it was probably best to treat him like she would an unhappy Hibari whenever she was late.

Show nothing but respect (fear) and a submissive attitude like a small animal and hope to the gods that he didn't bite her head off.

"If you're trying to appeal to my better nature with those ears, it's not working."

Ears?

She reached up and realized with some mortification she had grabbed a pair of rabbit ears instead of her head band by mistake in her rush to get here on time. Worse, not a single person said anything!

"Whatever... let's just get this over with. I have better things to do with my time than deal with sycophants and idiots," grumbled Seto Kaiba.

What followed was pretty standard. During the course of the interview she did her best not to piss him off... she didn't want to find out if the mental comparison to Hibari was just a coincidence and have him bite her to death if she irritated him too much.

She went home, exhausted beyond belief.

However... the next week she got a call.

She had the job.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

"Sorry!" she said sheepishly.

"Easy. Big brother hates it when things are out of order more than he does being late. You're the new one aren't you?"

"Yeah, I still can't believe I got the job. I thought I totally messed it up by grabbing the wrong headband by mistake," she replied.

"Wait... you're Bunny Girl?" said Mokuba, in amusement and surprise.

"Bunny girl?" she repeated.

"Let's just say the headband helped. He actually remembered you after the interview was over," said Mokuba dryly.

She blushed in embarrassment.

"I still can't believe I was hired at all. The only other job I had before this was washing dishes."

Mokuba winced.

"There's a reason for that. You didn't annoy my brother and despite the lack of skills you were one of the rare few who wasn't a plant from another company, someone who was interested in getting in his pants, and he mostly needed someone to fend off the more annoying idiots. The whole secretary thing was just a nicer way of saying that you're the one who has to deal with people."

Her lips quirked up.

"Basically the dragon wanted someone to guard his den so he didn't have to deal with so many humans," she said amused.

Mokuba snickered.

"Pretty much. I mean you could wear those rabbit ears again and no one would care."

"I think I might. Clearly they're a good luck charm," she joked.

True to his prediction, no one even batted an eye at the ears after the first week and a half. By the end of the month she was the longest lasting "secretary" Kaiba had ever had, a fact that surprised many considering how quickly he had a habit of firing them.

Then again, they had never had prior experience of how to deal with a dragon thanks to Hibari.

On the plus side, she was getting better at using a computer.

* * *

Mokuba was heading to his brother's office to deliver some reports when he realized something.

Bunny girl (he really needed to find out her real name...though she didn't seem to mind being simply called "Usagi-chan") was still manning the desk to his brother's office. There were several rather pushy idiots in front of her, though she wasn't budging.

Mokuba grinned as he heard her stand her ground and insistently ask whether or not they had an appointment.

Watching those self-important idiots walk off in a huff, he snickered.

"Nice job."

"Your brother in a foul mood scares me more than they do," she said flatly.

Mokuba snickered.

"And yet you haven't run far, far away from him after seeing it twice already."

"That's because I know for a fact that while he'll snarl and growl at me, he won't express his irritation with physical violence like the other dragon I know," she deadpanned.

"...Other dragon?" said Mokuba slowly.

"Hibari Kyouya is a much more violent, far more territorial version of your brother," said Usagi with amusement.

"I'll believe that when I see it," said Mokuba flatly.

She grinned.

"Go on in if you want to see your brother. Unlike those idiots you don't need an appointment," she said with amusement.

Mokuba snickered with amusement and went right in.

Kaiba looked up from his desk, then looked at the time before blinking.

"What's wrong?"

"...I just had five hours of uninterrupted productive work."

Mokuba blinked twice, before he snickered.

"You can thank Usagi-chan for that. She's been frustrating those leeches we call our Board every time they come to demand something from you."

"Usagi?"

"Bunny girl. The one who came to the interview with rabbit ears by mistake."

"She's still here?" said Kaiba in surprise.

"For the past three months. You didn't notice?" said Mokuba with open amusement.

From the look of his face, that would be a "no".

The fact remained that for the past three months he had been getting _actual_ work done without interruptions for several long stretches of time.

And he had no idea who was responsible for this fact until Mokuba commented on it.

If she lasted another month he would have to go to stage two. A test of loyalty.

* * *

Usagi squeaked when someone grabbed her off the street as she was heading into work.

In a dizzying set of turns and switchovers (she had no idea where she was, especially since the glass was blacked out from both sides) she found herself in a rather depressing room. There was a mirror window, a plain desk and a man in a really cheap suit.

Usagi was a bit freaked out at first. Who knew what this guy wanted, and she wasn't exactly a fighter.

That concern swiftly died and shifted to something more akin to feminine rage and indignity.

He was trying to _buy_ her loyalty? Sure, the job wasn't what she expected and her boss was slightly terrifying.

But expecting her to fall for this obvious trap?

Usagi stood up, took the money and dumped in on his head.

"No thank you," she said curtly, clearly pissed off. "I might not be more than a guard dog for my boss, but if there's one thing I _do_ have it's loyalty. I will not be bought and if you try to insult me further I will slap you."

She walked to the door and was mildly surprised to find it unlocked. That surprise only went up when she found herself a few blocks from her work. She checked her watch, and walked out the door with her head held high and her pride intact.

She had no idea the chaos she left in her wake, or the openly disbelieving look on her boss' face when he saw that little show. Mokuba was outright grinning.

"Did she pass that weird test you insisted on, big brother?" he snickered.

Most teenagers would have _jumped_ at the chance to earn a quick ten million yen, all for a little spying. Seeing the usually timid Usagi dump it on the random man his brother hired to play the part of a rival company agent and threaten to slap him if he even thought of trying to raise it further had been a surprise. A pleasant one though.

Mokuba had to admit... Usagi was terrifying in her own right when he saw her an hour later. She was clearly pissed off, but managed to maintain a calm facade long enough to do her job.

Something about that smile made the three leeches who were on their board of directors actually wet themselves in fear when she turned it on them.

* * *

 _A days later..._

Kaiba looked at the employee profile of "Usagi", aka "Bunny Girl".

Which wasn't her actual name, but considering the nickname she had in her home town he could understand why she chose to let people call her that.

Sawada Tsubaki was a complete nobody. Someone so pathetic that it was a miracle she had managed to show _this_ level of competence as a secretary beyond turning people who annoyed him away at the door.

Her grades were just _barely_ above the failing mark, her physical condition was the absolute dead last of her school, and her only known family was a mother who was quite clearly delusional.

There was word of her father, but the man hadn't been seen outside of the rare appearance in town for years. And never for more than a week at a time. Supposedly he worked in the cold regions of the arctic "directing penguins", which was a cover story so fake it was obviously a lie.

In all honesty as a secretary she barely ranked "acceptable".

And yet she managed to survive as his "secretary" for close to five months when every other applicant was either chased off for annoying him too much, or failed the loyalty test.

He would have to keep an eye on her, bunny ears or not.

* * *

Usagi blinked at the task she was given. Why was _she_ the one who had to organize the office Christmas party when it was mostly for the adult workers? It was an almost guarantee that there would be spiked punch, barely acceptable "Santa/Mrs. Claus/Elf" costumes, and of course far too much noise. And don't forget the presents, which were also a given.

She sighed. Okay, she could understand why they weren't asking the boss to organize it. If he was anything like Hibari he probably disliked the holiday other than spending some quality time with his little brother. And technically she _was_ the one with the most free time since she mostly denied entry to the boss' office.

Time to ask around and find out what everyone wanted and then narrow down a list.

"Um... Mokuba? Do you think you could help me with something?" asked Usagi.

"What do you need?"

"I got roped into organizing the Christmas Party for everyone else. And I would very much like to avoid having your brother bite my head off because they happened to bother him when he would almost certainly like to avoid everyone except for you," Usagi replied. "I need to know what to avoid... specifically which floors he intends to use for the holidays so I can divert the parties to different ones."

Mokuba's amusement only rose when he heard her reasoning. Once again, Usagi-chan proved herself far more adept at reading his brother's mood than any other person save for him. She wasn't forcing Seto to interact with his employees who would almost certainly be drunk that day.

It was an unspoken fact that the last three parties he was forced to join resulted in twenty people being fired...usually for being so drunk they hit on the boss or just irritating him with their noise level.

He was grinning and trying not to laugh as he helped Usagi draft an e-mail with a check list that was completely anonymous. The fact they made a list of "acceptable" booze to spike the punch with (again, she was just assuming it was a given it would happen at some point, so they might as well add it anyway) amused Mokuba greatly.

This was more for the employees, since Mokuba and Seto preferred a quiet Christmas together rather than a loud party.

Within a few hours, Usagi had a decent list. And with Mokuba's help she managed to narrow it down...including the floors that they were allowed to use.

Mokuba had to laugh at the "rule" Usagi also posted once she shared the lists with the employees.

"'The biggest mess makers will have to perform all the clean up, since the janitors will be given the day off. This includes messes made from drunken revelry and improper usage of closet/office or any enclosed spaces between two or more adults. And no, being drunk at the time will not get you out of it... we will be checking the tapes to find out who created what mess during the party and you _will_ be cleaning it up.' Seto's going to love that one," said Mokuba openly laughing.

He hated Christmas parties, and not having to pay the janitors extra to clean up after them was going to amuse his cranky brother.

"I know right? All we're doing is forcing them to be 'responsible' adults or they can find a new job. Besides, you have to pity the poor janitors, especially when they're cleaning up after _those_ sort of messes... it would take hours for the smell of bleach and industrial cleaners to dissipate," said Usagi, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Mokuba cackled. That might deter some of the more _sober_ idiots, but not the really drunk ones.

Kaiba, when he read the office e-mail, had to blink twice at the "rule" being imposed before he openly snorted. He had to read it twice, but each time his amusement stayed.

Mokuba walked in and didn't have to ask why he was amused.

"Remind me to give her a raise," he said, snorting.

"Considering she's lasted six months without doing more than squeaking when you bark at her for being too slow and actually keeps the idiots away from you, she deserves it," said Mokuba dryly.

"Who put her in charge of the Christmas party though? She's still a minor."

"So are you, brother. Apparently she was chosen because she had the most free time...though I had to help her set up the office e-mail so everyone got it. She even made sure that the party rooms would avoid all the areas you'd be in so you won't have to socialize unless you wanted to," said Mokuba.

Kaiba looked again at the floor plan for the party. There were three floors designated for the rather large-scale party...the highest one being two floors _below_ where he would be working that night, which meant the noise level would be minimal and he wouldn't have to go near the drunken idiots. And she had cut out the usual foolishness of the idiots bringing booze by simply ordering it right off the bat. That meant their intake would mostly be limited to what was already available and the spiked punch.

After all, why buy booze when it was being provided for free?

"...Definitely giving Usagi a raise," he muttered.


	22. Spirit Fire Chapter One

Everyone had heard of Urameshi Yusuke, one of the _worst_ delinquents in the city that shockingly wasn't under the command of Hibari Kyouya.

Shocking in that Hibari had damn near _every_ punk, ne'er do-well, and delinquent in the city under his command, or afraid of him.

Urameshi lived far enough away that he could slip through those particular cracks, while close enough that his reputation was almost as feared as Hibari.

Almost, because this side of town was too nice for him to frequent.

So when Tsunami Sawada found herself on the wrong side of town, with no idea how to get home once she finally did locate the grocery, it was with some alarm that she found herself surrounded by the gangs Hibari had more or less converted or worse, run out of the good side of town. The ones smart enough not to get his attention a _second_ time, lest he track them down.

"Hie!" she screamed, unaware that she would soon have an encounter with the other devil of Namimori.

Hearing the sound of fists landing, she kept her eyes firmly shut until she only heard the sound of traffic.

The thugs were all out cold, with a boy wearing a green gakuran, slicked back hair and cocky expression looking rather smug over them.

"Ya alright?" he asked.

She nodded. It didn't take a genius to realize that she was right next to _the_ Urameshi Yusuke, the demon delinquent of Namimori.

Seeing the hand, she took it as he helped her up.

"Can't stand losers who gang up on a girl who got lost. Plus this counts as my good deed of the day!" he said cheerfully.

Yusuke lead her out of the 'bad' side of town back into more familiar territory. He was nothing like she had heard, in fact while he was a bit rough around the edges, she could sense he was a good person under that tough exterior.

Which was why, a month later, she found herself on the wrong side of town on purpose this time. She followed her instincts until she located Urameshi again.

"Eh? You're that girl from last month."

He recognized her? She did her best not to blush from relief. It would have been awkward if he hadn't.

"I wanted to thank you. For rescuing me that day."

Yusuke looked openly embarrassed. It was blatantly clear the girl didn't belong here... her clothes, while rather well worn, were too well made to be from here. And she looked like a lost kitten who had wandered away from her mama cat.

She wouldn't last two seconds around here.

He only did it because he knew his conscience would never let him hear the end of it if he had ignored her distress.

"I couldn't walk by and let those losers do who knows what to you."

"What's this Urameshi, your new girlfriend?" sneered another rough looking teen.

This one had the familiar pompadour of the disciplinary committee, except she didn't think he was one of Hibari-san's minion.

"You do realize walking around with that hair style is going to create a lot of confusion. Especially if you went to the other side of town. It would almost certainly draw Hibari-san or Kusakabe-san to you," she commented.

Yusuke snickered.

"Kuwabara wouldn't last five seconds against that demon!" laughed Yusuke.

"Then why is he wearing the hair style of the disciplinary committee?" she asked in confusion.

"Wait, you mean the rumors that everyone from his second-in-command down all have pompadours is _true_?" said Kuwabara in shock.

"I don't know if they're trying to emulate Kusakabe, or if it's a mandatory hair style..." Tsunami replied helplessly. She could sense "Kuwabara" wasn't a bad person, the same way Urameshi was a nice guy underneath.

"So who is she?" asked Kuwabara, unconsciously relaxing around her. Next to him, Yusuke did the same.

"Ah! I'm Sawada Tsunami, nice to meet you!" she said, realizing she hadn't introduced herself.

Yusuke grinned. He liked this girl, even if he wasn't sure why she was on their side of town.

"Kuwabara Kazuma," said the pompadour teen. He blushed openly when she smiled at him.

"Urameshi Yusuke."

He almost fared the same when she turned that smile on him. Seriously, he didn't deserve someone like her around him. She was too nice and from the good part of town.

It was ironic, but he'd soon reevaluate that assessment in a few short years when the "kitten" would eventually grow up to be a fierce tiger.

* * *

Yusuke was not having a good day. His mother was on a bender and worse, locked him out of the house. _Again_!

Fuming, he went to take out a smoke, only to feel a now familiar presence in the area. Perking up, he honed in on Tsunami-chan like filings to a magnet.

The girl was a kitten in a den of wolves, and she wasn't afraid of them in the least. Especially after she managed to befriend the strongest wolf in the entire area.

Yusuke grinned.

"Tsunami-chan!" he called out. She brightened and headed straight for him.

"Why do you have a bag next to you?" she asked curiously.

"My ma's on a drinking binge again and I have no idea where she hid the key this time. Easier to have a bag so I can crash in some abandoned building until she comes back," explained Yusuke.

She tilted her head.

"What about Kuwabara-kun?"

"No way in hell am I asking him for help. Besides, he doesn't have the room," scoffed Yusuke. "And Keiko is out too."

Keiko was his childhood friend, and she had hit it off almost immediately with Tsunami. Mostly because like the timid girl, Keiko saw past Yusuke's rough exterior to the person under it. She seemed very happy to have another girl to bond with, especially since Tsunami didn't even look fazed at Yusuke's blustering.

Unfortunately, there was no way he'd ask Keiko for help. He had his pride!

Tsunami frowned.

"Why don't you stay with me then?"

"What?"

Surely she was joking! She lived in the good side of town, wouldn't the neighbors talk? Or worse, her father start something up because of his reputation?

"We have more than enough room, and mama doesn't mind visitors. Not like I have any other friends to bring home anyway."

"What about the neighbors?" asked Yusuke. No way was he damaging her reputation.

The look on her face was way too familiar. And what did she mean she had no other friends?

"They already think less of me," she said cryptically.

Yusuke tried to fight her on it, but Tsunami was surprisingly stubborn. Reluctantly, he followed her to the other half of Namimori. He could already see the condescending glares of the people around him and resisted the urge to sneer. Tsunami barely batted an eye, even if he had to steady her a few times when she tripped on the most ridiculous things. She also wasn't fond of dogs.

His sharp hearing quickly caught the whispering of the neighbors, and he barely resisted the urge to snarl at them.

Who the hell did they think they were, calling her "Dame Tsunami the walking catastrophe" like that? These assholes weren't fit to lick her shoes!

His anger barely restrained, though from the looks of it Nami was far too used to being called "Dame Tsunami", and the snide remarks from the older women about her father, or lack thereof.

Sawada Nana was a nice woman, but a bit of an air head. She clearly hadn't realized her daughter had been going to the other side of town, or made friends with him.

But she still welcomed him inside with a smile, if a bit cautious.

It was weird. The two of them lived alone (Tsunami's father "worked overseas" according to her mother, but Yusuke noticed the distinct lack of any pictures) but were still kinder than any of their neighbors.

The food was better than anything his ma had made, and Nana seemed to warm up to him pretty fast... likely because Tsunami had never really brought someone to their home before and introduced him as her friend.

Later, he found out the full story on why Tsunami always made her way to their side of town after school, sometimes even before it was over.

And he thought he had problems.

"So these losers all call you 'Dame Tsunami the Walking Catastrophe' because you're clumsy and not good at school, and because your dad is nonexistent?"

"The one time I thought he was actually alive, and could do something, he told me to 'man up and take the punches' when I asked him to talk to the parents of the kids who bully me the most," said Tsunami miserably. "Which is why I'm of the opinion my mother hired a particularly stupid escort to try and cheer me up when the bullying got really bad into pretending he was alive."

"Ouch," said Yusuke with sympathy. Considering he could tell Nana was a bit oblivious to certain things, it was no wonder the neighbors thought they had free reign to gossip about his friend like that in the open.

"Hibari keeps the worst of them from getting brave enough to try something, but I still get pushed a lot, and most of my class seems to think I'll end up a streetwalker or something even worse because I have no father and I'm not very good at anything. And no one ever tries to be my friend because it would only open them up to the same treatment," said Tsunami miserably.

Well that explained why she attached herself so quick to him, from a single rescue.

Yusuke patted her on the head. He vaguely noticed her mother outside the door listening to the entire thing, crying.

Clearly she hadn't been aware of how bad things were for her daughter.

He was already forming a plan to get the worst of these losers off Tsunami's case.

* * *

Hibari was not in a good mood, and it only got worse hearing the herbivores cause a stir about someone near the gates. It was someone who _definitely_ didn't belong, and more importantly shouldn't be here. Not unless he had a death wish.

Hibari would have to deal with this intruder personally.

"What do you want, Urameshi? Your brand of mischief is not tolerated here," said Kyouya leveling a tonfa at him.

Urameshi smirked, and it rankled him. Herbivores shouldn't be this confident in front of a carnivore.

"Yusuke! What are you doing here?" yelped a herbivore he was partially familiar with, if only for the sheer number of reports he got on bullying behavior from the fake carnivores. She was a weak animal, and thus prey.

And yet here she was, easily conversing with this possible carnivore like she knew him personally.

So she was the mystery Namimori student that had been spotted frequently around the other side of town. The one he allowed to fester if only because it meant an ample hunting ground for his men.

And for him, if he was ever really bored.

"Herbivore, going to that side of town is forbidden," said Hibari glaring at her. She flinched, but stood her ground.

"Yusuke is my _friend_. I'm not going to quit visiting him because you don't like the idiots who tried to challenge you and failed," she said flatly. She heard the whispers behind her from the other students, but ignored them with the ease of long, long practice. Yusuke's glare at them all shut the smarter ones up, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be hearing of this later. Repeatedly.

"Besides, what sort of friend would I be if I didn't pick her up from school? If only to insure that there aren't any...accidents... along the way," said Yusuke grinning. Except his grin was more like a trained attack dog all too happy to rip into anyone stupid enough to bother the one who held the leash.

Some of the smarter idiots backed off from Tsunami, but it was Hibari's reaction to Yusuke that cemented his "place" among the good part of Namimori.

"Dog, if I catch you up to any mischief in _my_ territory I will bite you to death. Are we clear?" glowered Hibari.

"Fair enough," said Yusuke unconcerned.

The fact she was quick to hug him in full view of her school, once Hibari departed, only insured that the message she was not to be trifled with was sent across loud and clear.

"Why did you come here?" she asked, curious.

Yusuke grinned.

"People like to think of you as a 'no good catastrophe', right?" he asked. She nodded, wondering why he had braved Hibari to pick her up. "Well how do you think they're going to react if they think you got a trained attack dog ready to bite their heads off, regardless of the fact it's that demon prefect's turf?"

Her eyes widened.

"They'll be too terrified of coming near me. But why?"

Yusuke looped one of his arms around her shoulder.

"Consider it fair trade for letting me crash at your place while my ma's on a bender. Besides, it pisses me off they think they can get away with pushing one of my friends around," said Yusuke.

She tilted her head.

"It's a rep thing, isn't it?" she asked.

"That too," admitted Yusuke.

If he allowed one of his friends to be pushed around as much as she was, then it would only make his own rep look bad. Keiko was at least mildly popular and protected by her rep as the "perfect student", even if the teachers frowned on her association with him. Tsunami didn't have that. She was the school's punching bag.

And that really pissed him off.

Tsunami didn't know what to think. On one hand, this meant her own reputation was going to sink even lower in the eyes of the adults. She could already hear them talk about her behind her back, how she was almost certainly doomed to be a "nobody".

Except... Yusuke was the first real friend she had. And it wasn't like her reputation had been great to begin with. Far from it.

Yusuke noticed how she straightened up a bit, almost coming to a decision.

"Let those idiots talk. I'd rather have you as my friend than a bunch of fakers who hate me anyway. Just... try not to piss off Hibari-san too much, please?" asked Tsunami with wide eyes.

Yusuke's grin was wide. If there was one thing that was true of both him and his mother, it was that when someone had their loyalty they had it for life. They were like loyal hounds that would always come back to their master, even when things were going to shit.

"I'll try, little sister," he said, rubbing her head.

"Does this mean I should start calling you Yusuke-nii then?" she asked smiling.

Yusuke rubbed his head embarrassed. Well, Tsunami was like the adorable little sister he always wanted... and it wasn't like he minded being called "big brother". Besides, this would definitely cement her rep as someone you didn't want to mess with, for fear of him coming down on their heads.

"Why not."

Tsunami beamed and hugged him. She always wanted a big brother.


	23. Transcending Time and Space Chapter One

**A Fem Harry is Fran fic, with a little time travel on the side. I REGRET NOTHING! XD**

* * *

If anyone noticed the profound difference in her attitude, no one dared to say anything. Iris Potter finished her History of Magic exam in record time (she had that same flat, expressionless look on her face since the Divination exam) before leaving the exam hall.

Iris had gone from defiant and headstrong to completely emotionless and flat. It was like all the fight had drained out of her, leaving only a sarcastic, rather obnoxious witch behind.

Hermione was not impressed with the change, Ron, more so since Iris hadn't hesitated to rip apart his rather pathetic ego and jealous to shreds with mere words.

They were still baffled on how she managed to get Trevor to stay in one place when even Neville had given up on keeping track of his toad. Said amphibian was now happily sleeping the days away in the pocket of her robes, which had been specially charmed for a toad.

Iris had already discreetly bought the toad off from Neville, who was more than happy to part with his long time pet. Mostly because it meant he could discreetly order one that he wanted and he only kept track of as an afterthought at this point. Or maybe some new plants. It didn't hurt that she had also bribed him with unlimited use of Hedwig and an owl-order catalog from overseas.

Hedwig could use the exercise, to be honest.

Iris went to the kitchens to get some meat, and then packed her bag. History was the last exam she had to do and she had no intention of following the same damn script that had been more or less shoved down her throat the first time.

Screw magical England. She was so gone it wasn't even funny.

"Hell Fran," said a voice with a dreamy quality.

"Hey Luna. Should have guessed you'd notice the truth. You were always the most perceptive," said Iris.

"I suppose I will see you soon. I'm sure Daddy will understand... besides, I just finished my O.W.L.'s earlier," said Luna happily.

Iris turned to look at the little Mist. Luna and possibly Neville were the only ones she'd claim were still her friends in the castle, since the twins were already long gone.

"Take care of Hedwig for me. Make sure that the Order and the two idiots don't get near her," said Iris blandly.

Luna hummed happily.

"You look better with teal and happier when it's mixed with gold," said Luna. Iris blushed.

"Thanks. See you soon, Lunabell," said Iris.

With a few pieces of meat, one of the thestrals broke off from the herd and let her get on it's back.

"Take me home to Florence, please," she asked politely. With a simple illusion, no one saw them leave.

Luna went up to the Owlry to pick up Hedwig. The owl didn't need to be told, and flew to her shoulder before nuzzling her hair.

She'd see her chick soon enough.

* * *

 _Italy_

The second Iris touched down in Italy (having bypassed nearly _every_ spell and ward meant to deter magicals from entering illegally...not that she cared) the part of her that was the English Enclave's Savior died.

She refuse to martyr herself for them twice. They weren't worth it, regardless of what the old bastard claimed.

It was like stepping into a favorite blanket after a bad day, curled up to a fire with a warm of hot tea in her hands.

Iris Potter was long gone, and in her place was Fran. Or as a certain fake prince liked to call her, "Froggy".

Except she had known just by looking at the date when the memories came back that the Varia wouldn't remember her. That the Varia Storm wouldn't know who she was on sight.

It had hurt like hell.

But the Varia castle was the closet she had ever come to a real home since her parents were murdered. Hogwarts had once held that place in her heart, before war and far too many lies had ruined that image.

The thing was she couldn't jump into the Mist division and expect them to place her with the temperamental Storm Officer like last time. She'd be lucky to rate anything more than a grunt.

But there were other, much less annoying ways into the Varia castle. If one could stomach the sheer insanity that came with being in close proximity to Vongola madness, which was only amplified by the almost mandatory insanity that came with being Varia Quality.

Besides, it wasn't like she was unused to cleaning.

Within a week (and having to deal with the "stress test" of cleaning out no less than ten different corpses that tended to collect in the castle, one of which had all the hallmarks of being one from Lussuria's special collection) she was hired and given a fairly decent salary for someone who was clearly underage and had zero previous employers. So long as she could pass the high school requirement, they did not give a damn what her qualifications were.

Considering the amount of blood and other fluids no normal maid would want to deal with on top of the random bodies and corpses that were around the place, they couldn't really afford to be picky. It took a special kind of person (or a hell of a lot of desensitization) for someone to keep working in the Varia Castle without running away screaming or needing to be disposed of via the mass grave in the back.

Just seeing Belphegor again, ten years younger than she remembered, hurt. But if there was one thing she was used to, it was pain. It was an old friend that had never betrayed her, regardless of what happened.

* * *

Lussuria normally didn't pay much attention to the maids or the people who kept the castle inhabitable.

Except he'd have to be _blind_ to miss the looks she kept shooting the Varia's self-proclaimed "Prince". The teal-haired girl was positively adorable, always making up excuses to avoid Belphegor whenever he walked in the room.

It had taken the Prince a full month to pick up on it.

He had not been happy...which lead to the situation right now.

"The stupid maid keeps running away."

Luss chuckled.

"Then again she's right to fear the Prince," continued Bel, still pouting.

Luss couldn't help it... he laughed.

"It's not fear."

Bel looked so adorably confused Luss didn't want to ruin that particular surprise. From what he could tell, the maid had a serious crush on the blond Storm officer. Though he was getting all the signals mixed up.

It was only natural... Luss doubted Bel had ever had to deal with someone who knew perfectly well what he did and wasn't terrified of him. He had never been on the receiving end of a crush like the absolutely adorable one he had on Mammon years ago, before he outgrew it when he hit puberty.

Mammon had found it cute, which was why she (and Luss was one of the rare people who knew the Mist's real gender) hadn't charged him for it and simply let him grow out of it. Besides, Luss was also aware Mammon had a thing for Fon, though she would deny it with her dying breath if asked about it.

Bel stared at Luss.

"Then why does the peasant always leave when I enter the room?"

Luss grinned at the confused Storm.

"That would ruin all the fun when you figure it out. I will say she's not scared of you in the least though. If she could handle cleaning up the mess you made in the second training hall with your Storms, I highly doubt your usual habits would get her to run away."

For a brief, split-second, Luss saw a flash of confused red under Bel's bangs. He always hid his eyes because apparently the sight of blood red eyes terrified people and he got sick of people flinching when they saw it. Even his own parents had been sickened by them.

Somehow, Luss doubted the little maid would flinch. She'd probably like them.

Bel was so irritated that the maid kept avoiding him that he did something he normally wouldn't.

He ordered one of them to come up and clean out his room.

Belphegor did _not_ like having people in his room. He barely tolerated Luss in there, and that okama refused to step foot inside unless it had been properly cleaned after the first time.

The little maid, being the most recent hire and the only one who was available, quietly entered the room with several trash bags, enough cleaning supplies to handle damn near anything, and the air of someone who was exasperated with the situation.

She was _not_ expecting Belphegor to still be in there. He was supposed to be out on a mission!

He had her pinned to the wall with a knife to the throat and a bloodthirsty smirk firmly in place.

"Ushishishi... look what I've finally caught. Did you really think you could keep avoiding me like that?" he sneered.

He couldn't properly see her eyes under those long bangs (there were hints of green, but that was it), but he could feel her annoyance.

"Stupid fake prince," she said flatly, unimpressed.

Belphegor growled.

"Kaching. The prince is not a fake."

She lifted her head a bit and gave him a flat look. Her green eyes should looked like they were once _very_ expressive, but something had stripped all emotion from them in a painful manner. Belphegor didn't like that. At all.

"Look are you going to let me do my job and clean up this pigsty, or are you going to continue being a brat and keep me pinned here?" she asked flatly.

Belphegor stared at her from behind his bangs. He slowly let her up from the wall, and she went to work with admirable efficiency for a peasant. Every so often he would throw some of his knives at her just to see how she would react.

She didn't. The closest she came to it was catching said knives before they went more than a few inches past her head before bending them, to his annoyance.

"Knock that off, peasant!" snapped Belphegor.

"Keep your toys to yourselves, fake prince," she said bluntly.

This maid was really starting to piss him off.

In less than an hour, she had the room as close to clean as it was liable to get with a cranky Prince bothering her.

She left without a word, leaving a confused and irritable Belphegor behind.

* * *

Mammon was sitting with Lussuria with an amused look on their face. Well as much as one could see considering the cowl hide half their features from view.

"Mu. This is beyond adorable and entertaining. And you're saying the little prince hasn't figured it out yet?"

Luss chuckled.

"He gets all confused and irritable every time the little one gets brought up. He still hasn't figured out that she likes him," said Luss.

It was great entertainment to watch the two. Even if Squalo had yet to pick up on the fact that Belphegor had an admirer.

Luss grinned at the Mist.

"Want to make it even more fun?"

"I'm listening," smirked Mammon.

* * *

 _A few weeks later..._

Belphegor stared at the annoying maid. Just being around her was confusing...even if every time she opened her mouth he wanted to stab her. Repeatedly. It was like she had a talent for pissing people off.

"What do you want, peasant?"

"I have an extra ticket to that new slasher movie in town and no one else was interested," said the girl flatly. "It's no fun watching it alone and it would be a waste to skip out."

Belphegor stared at her, wondering why his stomach did a strange flip when he realized that he would be alone in a movie theater with the annoying maid who wasn't afraid of him.

"What's in it for the prince?"

The girl rolled her eyes at him openly.

"You could have fun trying to copy the deaths in the movie or trying to outdo them with your next assignment. Besides, it's a free ticket to a decent movie with lots of blood, death and gratuitous violence with the inevitable horror cliches."

He blinked, twice.

"I'm in, but you're buying the snacks."

He was bored and this sounded like it would be mildly interesting.

"Fine, but you're driving," she said with her usual deadpan.

Luss and Mammon discreetly smirked as they watched Belphegor and the little maid drive off to the movies.

"Should we stalk them?" asked Mammon.

"Absolutely," said Luss grinning. This was too entertaining to pass up!

* * *

The movie wasn't half bad. A bit too cliché and the plot could definitely use some work, but it wasn't a B-rated flick.

Belphegor found it all rather amusing.

Mammon smirked when, as the little maid (they really needed to find out what her name was) was coming back from using the restroom and getting a refill of her root beer, the Mist Arcobaleno deliberately tripped her.

The effect was instant. She managed to keep her drink from spilling, but not her balance.

It took Belphegor a few seconds to register that the annoying maid was sprawled on his lap. A faint tinge of red mostly hidden by his long bangs came across his cheeks.

She put her drink into the cup holder and slowly managed to get back up off his lap. Though there was no way Bel could miss the blush on her cheeks...they were too close and the lighting was just right.

Unseen thanks to the bangs that covered his eyes, Belphegor's eyes widened.

Oh. So that was why Luss found the fact that the maid avoided him amusing. His own blush deepened and he had to resist the urge to pull her into his lap properly.

Above them, Mammon and Luss shared identical smirks.

This was really too adorable for words. And worth the cash it took to get those tickets to the movie.


	24. Cat's Fire Chapter One

**This is a Fruits Basket cross I simply couldn't resist making. Enjoy!**

* * *

He was dreaming. It had been a very long time, but he still remembered the day his _mother_ handed him over to his Shishou because she couldn't handle reality anymore. The Sohma family curse was something she had never really paid much mind to...until her own son was born with the Curse of the Cat.

She had never really recovered from that. The fact that for some reason he was able to call orange fire to his hands had been the last straw.

He only vaguely remembered his father, but it was never with any fondness. From what Shishou told him, the man was a complete idiot and not worth mentioning.

He was turning seventeen, soon to be eighteen and not looking forward to leaving high school.

Mainly because of the sentence hanging over his head by the head of the family, who was more than a little bit insane and from what little he had been able to research on the subject, schizophrenic.

After accidentally stumbling across the definition in the English dictionary when he was studying, he had brought it up with Hatori.

Apparently he had hit that nail pretty much on the head, and most of Akito's erratic behavior came from the fact they _hated_ taking the medication for it and would pull whatever crap they had on those cursed to overrule Hatori on the matter, despite the fact the man was their personal doctor.

Kyo sometimes wondered why no one simply slipped a diluted form of the medication in Akito's food and drink. It would make things so much easier for everyone who had to deal with them.

However he had no idea his fortune was going to quickly change, and all because of a man who also suffered from a rather unfortunate curse.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

"Ciaossu. Is Kyo Sohma here?"

Kyo looked down to find a toddler, and the second he saw the pacifier he remembered an odd comment his Shishou made about another person with an odd curse. He had mostly made it to cheer Kyo up about his own predicament.

"Arcobaleno?" he half-asked, half-guessed.

The 'toddler' looked up at him, and there was something rather sharp about his gaze that Kyo definitely didn't like. Those were the eyes of a cold-blooded killer.

"How would you know that word?"

"My Shishou made a comment about knowing another martial artist with a curse. Anyway what do you want?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Kyo Sohma," replied the cursed man.

"Well you found him. Who are you anyway?"

The man jumped onto the counter and gave him a serious look.

"My name is Reborn and I'm here to turn you into a mafia boss," he said with a perfectly straight expression.

Kyo's face went completely blank...before he yelled out "Shishou! I think you need to get in here!"

His adopted father took one look at Reborn before he winced.

Within short order, Reborn found himself sitting at a table with some hot tea.

"I have been sent by the Vongola familigia to turn you into the Tenth generation boss. That and I also double as a home tutor."

Though from what he had seen when he broke into Kyo's records, he didn't need that as much as mafia training. The kid had decent enough grades.

"May I ask why Kyo was picked? As far as I'm aware there are no Italians on his mother's side of the family. Most of the Sohma have stayed in Japan, with the rare exception that went to China."

"You can blame his father's side for that. His biological father is related to the first generation boss as a direct descendant," said Reborn, pulling out a family tree.

"So I'm descended from someone from Italy on my genetic donor's side. Why was I picked? Didn't the current boss have heirs or something?"

He wasn't _complaining_ about being a mafia boss (if only for the thin sliver of hope that he might escape his fate of being caged for the rest of his life) but he was very confused.

"The Ninth's boss' first son was killed in a police raid," said Reborn, pulling out pictures. "The second was sent to 'sleep with the fishes', however cliché and overused that trick is among the newer and more idiotic familigias that don't really last long. The third was killed and only a few bones were found. The fourth is ineligible for certain reasons and is currently on house arrest. In short the only two options are you and your younger brother...though in his case it's debatable whether he would fit the requirements, so they sent me to determine whether or not you're worthy as the heir."

Kyo's younger brother, which he had never met and had even less desire to meet since it risked seeing his mother again, was a Latent Lightning from the test they did. And the Vongola needed a Sky to take the throne.

Kyo's face darkened at the reminder that his mother had sent him away for something he had no control over, and that he was lucky Shishou was the one who took him in.

"So how will you know if he fits the requirements needed to become a boss, and how exactly are you planning to get past Akito if he is?" asked Shishou seriously.

"Akito?" asked Reborn.

"Head of the Sohma clan and a known schizophrenic who never takes their meds. Very controlling and will not like the idea of _any_ of those like me being out of Japan, since I'm assuming from the fact that we're talking mafia would mean I'd eventually move to Italy," explained Kyo.

"Akito's schizophrenic?" said Shishou, looking at Kyo oddly. "That...actually explains far too much."

"He overrules Hatori about the medication, though why no one simply mixes it in with his food and drink is beyond me," said Kyo.

"As for the requirements, that's actually the simple part. If he has them, then I can get started on dealing with this...Akito... person soon enough. If not, then we'll simply have to see if his brother has it."

And if Takeru didn't, then Iemitsu was going to have to get working on a third child, or he was going to end up stuck as the next boss unless Timoteo wanted to allow his adopted fourth son to have the reigns.

Reborn's pet chameleon Leon turned into a gun, and without much warning he shot Kyo with a Dying Will bullet.

Orange fire sprang from his head...and to the amusement of his Shishou (once the shock wore off), Kyo let the feelings he had for his 'Master/adopted father' out for the first time since he came to live with him.

Kyo was always too embarrassed to call Kazuma his father, and he had never pressed the matter since they both knew he was even if it was spoken. He barely batted an eye at the fact Kyo was now only in his boxers.

At least this was _slightly_ more dignified than when he turned into a cat.

When the five minutes were up and Kyo regained his senses, his face turned red as a tomato.

"That never happened and I will deny it ever did if asked," he said flatly.

Reborn smirked.

"Well it seems you _do_ fit the requirements after all. That makes my job easier."

"Wait, you mean that orange and purple fire that sometimes shows up is _normal_?" said Kyo in shock.

Reborn frowned.

"You knew about it before?"

He held up his right wrist, showing a bracelet made of white and black beads.

"It shows up whenever this comes off. I just learned to ignore it," admitted Kyo. He kept his wrist away from being touched when Reborn went to remove the bracelet.

"I would advise against that, especially since you're not the only one who suffers from an unfortunate curse. Though in his case, it's genetic," said Shishou.

"A curse?"

"Kyo's curse is two-fold, and that bracelet was created to suppress the other half of it," he explained.

Reborn would only find out later (though he found the fact that Kyo could speak 'cat' the same way he was able to communicate with bugs and reptiles interesting) what he meant by 'curse'.

* * *

Reborn merely had to take one look at Akito having another fit to realize that attempting to remove Kyo from his control was a lost cause. At least directly anyway.

Hatori, once he got over the shock of meeting the cursed hit man, was at least willing to listen to reason.

"If you can fool Akito into believing that Kyo was prematurely locked up and make the illusion good enough to last between his episodes, I would be willing to go along with it. Perhaps having a permanent outlet for their episodes, even a fake one, would keep the rest of those cursed safe."

Hatori was not above locking Akito in the special room with a dummy built to mimic a human body, if it meant the head of the Sohma clan would no longer vent their episodes on the others who suffered from the family curse. Sure, it meant a little deception but it was honestly the lesser of two evils at this point.

Akito's mental condition was a well kept secret, though those that had frequent exposure to them (mainly those cursed) were aware that he occasionally became extremely violent and threw massive tantrums without any warning.

Reborn was already making a mental check list of who he could call in for this sort of thing, which was very few.

He was so getting Timoteo to reimburse him for this, because Viper was a pain in the ass to deal with and would certainly charge him through the nose for it.

However a week later Akito was firmly under the grips of a permanent Mist illusion. Hatori was able to divert Akito's personal staff (and the Rooster) with a discreet explanation of what was really going on.

He didn't like it, but he agreed to keep silent so long as Akito's mental health didn't deteriorate further.

As far as the rest of the cursed knew, Akito had banished Kyo from the family permanently and that his name was now so taboo that merely mentioning it in his presence would send the man into a destructive rage with them being the victims of it.

Considering most of them had suffered directly from one of his rather terrifying episodes, no one _dared_ to mention Kyo's name in the main house or around Akito's hearing ever again.

"Are you sure this is a good move? Lying to them like this?" asked Shigure when Kyo and Kazuma moved to Namimori.

"It's safer than the alternative, and it leaves us a way to get the others out," said Hatori. "I would rather lie to them now and put Akito under a safe illusion than let what's happened before continue. If he would just take his medicines this wouldn't be nearly as abusive."

Hatori _had_ considered ordering the staff to slip in the medications into his food and drink, but the Rooster always seemed to know when he tried and would subtly divert the 'tainted' product away from Akito.

He'd rather bear the brunt of Akito's anger than let the damage done to him happen to someone else. It was a silent agreement among the Snake/Dragon/Dog trio to keep the younger ones safe from their head of house.

* * *

"...I hate you so much, I hope you realize that."

"It's just a co-ed high school," said Reborn smirking.

"Exactly," said Kyo with a sour look on his face. "You know the triggers for my curse, so why are you tempting fate like this?"

"Blackmail and boredom, mostly," admitted Reborn. "Now get in there and try not to jump out the first window when the girls try to make friends with you."

"You are such an asshole," scowled Kyo. Reborn smirked.

Kyo reluctantly walked into the school, got his schedule and waited for the teacher to announce the transfer student.

Quite a few people stared at his odd hair color, but it was eyes that held their attention most.

For as long as he could remember, his eyes had been the color of dawn/dusk, a warm amber that seemed to draw people in. It went nicely with his naturally orange hair color.

Said hair color was the reason why Iemitsu and Nono believed that young Tsuna would grow up to be a powerful Sky... occasionally Flames types bled into outward indicators such as unusual hair color. If Nana hadn't sent her son away when she did, it was likely Iemitsu's wish to seal his son would have worked.

As it was, they couldn't find the boy before Nono had to return to Italy, and the matter was dropped since he didn't show any indications of having an Active Flame thanks to the bracelet suppressing the majority of Sky Attraction.

That might change soon enough, once Kyo got used to summoning his Flames. But for now he read as a "civilian" to anyone who could sense such things.

He looked at the class and inwardly shuddered at the number of girls in there.

"My name is Sohma Kyo. I like martial arts, training and my dad. I don't like being crowded and rain," he said simply, giving them all a glare at when he mentioned being crowded.

He was rather confused at the collective wince most of the students had at that, and the fact that several started immediately making comparisons to someone called "Hibari-sempai".

It didn't stop them from surrounding his desk during the lunch hour, especially the girls.

The number of questions aimed towards him were one thing, but it was their close proximity that really caused him the most grief.

It wasn't well known, but Kyo was actually mildly claustrophobic. It was a combination of a minor incident when he was eight when a tree managed to pin him in a closet where he had hidden to ride out a thunderstorm (he had spent close to fifteen hours in there before they could properly clear out the tree to get him out...it had traumatized him ever since), and the knowledge that one day he would be caged for the rest of his life.

As a result, Kyo did _not_ do well when he felt like he was being caged in. There was a reason he slept on the roof whenever he could get away with it and left the windows open.

Having so many people surrounding him, with no real way out save through a locked window (it was too cold to open, even for him), or through several girls (which would only trigger his curse and make things even more complicated) was really setting off an anxiety attack.

Seeing a slight opening between two guys, Kyo didn't hesitate. He grabbed his lunch and darted between the guys and bolted out of the classroom without even a word.

He didn't get his breathing under control until two hours after the lunch period passed.

Kyo's head was leaning against his knees, just trying to calm down and get his anxiety and panic to drop to 'normal' levels so he could get his bag and leave.

That had been a bad one. Damn Reborn and his 'brilliant' idea of sending him to a co-ed school!

He looked at his watch. School was almost over, and he really didn't feel like getting his bag. On top of that, by the time he came down from the stairwell just outside the roof exit, the halls would be crowded and likely set him off again.

Today was not his day.

"Mind explaining what that was about?" asked a familiar voice. There was no judgment, just honest curiosity.

"I'm claustrophobic," said Kyo. "There's a reason I didn't argue when Akito sent me to an all-boys school before this."

Reborn said nothing. He looked Kyo in the eyes with some concern.

"What set it off?"

"Having that many girls around me is too nerve-wracking. If they came any closer it risked setting off my curse, and they were all around me without giving me hardly any space. I even said outright I don't like being crowded and they still did it," said Kyo with a pained whine.

Screw putting up a brave front. His pride and male ego always went to hell after one of his attacks. It had been such a nightmare hiding his condition, because he knew for a _fact_ if Akito had any idea Kyo was claustrophobic he wouldn't have hesitated to use it to make his life a living hell.

The only ones that knew were Hatori and his Shishou, and they weren't going to say anything.

Reborn was silent. There really wasn't much he could say, considering his student had a firmly-rooted reason for hating enclosed spaces. Instead he sat next to Kyo and used the kid to take a nap, lending some silent support.

Kyo barely noticed Leon leaving Reborn's fedora to perch on his own head.


	25. Unexpected Bonds Chapter One

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Of course she knew it was a _possibility_ that might happen, but with how her life generally went she had learned early on not to bother hoping that some long-lost family might show up and get her out of her own personal hell.

When she had sent that letter (which had quickly turned into many, eventually she just bought a two-way diary which made things much faster) she had never expected him to actually show up.

Except now here he was. And she had absolutely no idea how to react to that.

She would openly admit the way he subtly removed her from the home permanently was mostly a blur. She definitely remembered the so-called 'wards' that the headmaster claimed was absolutely essential for her protection slamming into place around the two of them, leaving the house entirely unprotected.

By the time she reoriented herself, they were far from England and halfway to Italy, on a boat of all things. At least she had a proper bed this time.

"Finally awake I see," he said amused.

She didn't even hesitate. The fact he had come for her at all was something she had never dared to hope for in a thousand years.

She tackled him in a hug, practically sobbing into his expensive tailored shirt.

He seemed to understand though. He rubbed her back soothingly.

"Easy, little sister."

"You came. You actually came."

"You really thought I would leave the last of my blood family alone with all the little details that said you were being actively abused and neglected and no one bothered to notice or care?" he said, raising an eyebrow. It hadn't taken that much of a leap to guess what was going on that she refused to mention.

Seeing the proof for himself had pissed him off more than he could have guessed though.

She simply hugged him that much tighter. He let the shock of a rather emotional day drain out of her and just held her. The fact she had fainted once they were properly on the boat and in their room hadn't surprised him at all. He also knew she would likely sleep most of the day tomorrow as well while her mind came to terms with the fact he had cared enough to actually come get her once he found out where she lived and was able to clear up his schedule long enough to do so. The fact he was never letting her go back to that house was also a major factor.

As he predicted, she passed out with a rather strong grip around him.

He simply rearranged the two of them and let his magic coil around her protectively, before taking a light nap himself.

* * *

Renato Sinclair was many things, but easily surprised or caught off guard was not one of them. Not anymore.

So finding out that he had a younger sister had come as a major shock. Finding out he wasn't actually from Italy was another, but that one was a lot easier to take than the fact he had actual blood family still living.

And then he started talking to his little sister, who had been just as thrilled/shocked to learn she had an actual sibling out there willing to talk to her.

What started out as a cautious testing of the waters quickly grew to a rather long correspondence. One that was made much easier when he sent her a two-way diary which allowed near instant communications and was less fragile (and expensive) than a two-way mirror.

That was when he started picking up on the little details. Things most people might dismiss, but someone who had been trained to pick up on things in order to kill others (someone like him), it was all too obvious that his sister's home life was less than happy and that she had been emotionally and physically neglected.

And that had pissed him off when he discovered the _extent_ of the damage.

It seemed that a lot of the adults in his sister's life had a great deal to answer for, missing this amount of abuse. Or at the very least allowing it to continue and even forcing her to return _every summer_. She had openly admitted requesting to at least stay in the school over the summer, but had been denied rather strongly by the headmaster.

So now the World's Greatest Hit Man had a weakness.

He would have to see exactly what the extent of her magical training was before he could start setting up wards on top of everything else. He just hoped she didn't regret asking to live with him once she found out what he did for a living.

Most civilian-raised girls would balk at the idea of having a trained killer around them.

It was around lunch when his sister...and that was one thing he was going to have to get used to, having a baby sister so frail and fragile being in close proximity to him with literally no where else to go or trust, properly woke up.

On the plus side, it seemed his little sister had some steel in her, and once given a chance for her to properly process her emotions was able to bounce back relatively quickly.

There was some caution (quite a bit of it, but considering what he rescued her from, understandable), but the thing that got him the most was the hope in her eyes.

Despite having so much crap piled on her and being thrown straight into the tumultuous deep end more often than not by the 'responsible adults' around her, there was still some hope left in her soul.

"Feeling better, kitten?"

She blushed a little.

"I'm glad you came. No one else ever has."

Renato held his sister close to him, calmly waiting for her to continue.

"Well you better get used to it, kitten. I'm not the sort of person who would leave my little sister in such a caustic environment. I despise child abusers."

She tilted her head.

"Kitten?" she asked.

"You're still little to me, and you said your house animal is a lion. So kitten," he said shrugging.

She snuggled into his side.

"I don't mind. I'd rather be kitten than one of my many hyphenated titles," she said.

Her stomach let out a loud rumble of protest.

He chuckled.

"Come on kitten. I can only assume it's been a while since you ate anything, and anyone would be starving after the past two days you've had."

He noticed that his kitten was subservient, almost submissive around him.

It was common behavior around abuse victims suddenly liberated from their unfavorable position. It was going to take time and patience, but with luck he knew his little kitten would start to properly flourish away from the factors that had hurt her so badly.

So instead he went for a neutral topic once he was certain his sister had eaten as much as her stomach could safely handle without her getting sick.

"There's one thing I still don't get. I know that it's typical for the first born children to end up as the head of a family, particularly old lines. So why is it that you were selected as the heir and I was skipped over?"

She actually blushed.

"About that. I didn't really want to know the details beyond the fact I had an older brother that was never spoken of since you went missing when we were attacked, but the gist of it is that you were born out of wedlock and I wasn't."

"...What?" said Renato, raising an eyebrow.

She had trouble looking him in the eyes, only empathizing how innocent she still was in some ways.

"Sirius said that you were born while our parents were still in school, and mum was too young to be properly married. And considering she was an Irish Catholic during a time when unwed mothers were frowned upon very heavily, to say nothing of the massive lack of proper support, it was decided that they would leave you with our paternal grandparents until they were properly married and your existence kept secret considering the laws concerning bastard children are not exactly favorable in the least," she explained. "From what I understand quite a bit of alcohol was involved when you were conceived."

"How exactly did our mother hide her pregnancy? Surely someone would have noticed."

"She was _very_ good at Charms. The only ones that knew were their closest friends, who all swore to secrecy. Sirius said that they used the Potter family cloak to send Mum to the Potter estate when you were about due to be born and hid the fact she was absent from the castle with polyjuice. Once you were born, they kept silent on your existence though she visited as often as she could. For the most part you stayed with our grandparents until they graduated and were married. They died soon after the wedding during an attack. When they had me, it was decided to pretend you were an adopted sibling rather than explain the truth to protect you from the old laws."

Renato said nothing. Well that explained far more than he had anticipated. Even he knew that England was one of the few places that had never rescinded the rather annoying "bastard" laws that made it hard for those conceived out of wedlock to inherit _anything_. It also made them heavily subject to the whims of the head of whatever house they were born into.

Such children were _lucky_ if they were properly adopted into the family and made full members. From the sound of it, he had been after the fact which explained why he still had a trust vault.

"How many know of me now?"

"Most who knew were killed off or agreed to have their memory of the pregnancy erased to protect you from the old laws. Out of those who would remember, I would have to say it would be the Maruaders...though only Remus is left."

"What happened to them?"

"Peter turned out to be a traitor and Sirius... Sirius was killed by our distant cousin Bellatrix a few months ago when I walked right into an ambush."

Renato made a note to get his sister to see Shamal as soon as possible. The Mist was one of the few people he could call friend, even if he was leery of allowing Shamal anywhere near his sister. The man was almost as big a womanizer as Renato himself, though he would openly admit to having problems pinning down his age.

At least he knew he could trust the idiot.

For the next four days, the two managed to make small talk to fill the time.

Renato immediately resolved to have his sister _permanently_ removed from the Hogwarts roster the second he was properly registered as her magical and legal guardian. Of course he would have to use his birth name (which he had been entirely unaware of until she managed to contact him) to avoid anyone making the connection between his sister and him outside the enclaves. But that was a small price to pay to insure his little kitten was _finally_ safe from the fools trying to use her for their own gain.

* * *

It was a good thing he had plenty of time to prepare for the fact he was going to be living with his little sister long before he retrieved her. As it turned out the Potter family had vacation homes already in Italy...it had taken a few owls between his kitten and the goblins, but he had been allowed the pick of them.

He chose one a decent distance from Venice with some decent real estate and wards that just needed to be updated. The kitchen had been completely redone, the furniture either replaced or fixed, and the pantry and fridge fully stocked. There was also a decent potions lab that he wasn't really planning to use, and much to his surprise (and secret delight) a medium-sized armory. Sure, most of the stock was outdated, but the weapons themselves were in very good condition and it wouldn't take much to update it to include modern weapons like his guns.

There were several bedrooms and he had promptly claimed the master, though he planned to give his kitten the room right next to it with the massive walk in closet. A closet he fully intended to fill with some _actual_ clothes outside of her school uniform and the rare knitted sweater.

He had seen what his 'cousin' and 'aunt' considered acceptable wear and he had been rather appalled by the very poor quality.

Renato was very much a fashion snob. And he would admit as much if asked...none of his clothes were off the rack and every one of them was custom tailored for him specifically. And that included his beloved fedora with the golden yellow band around it.

His kitten and her owl took to their new home rather well. However it was what happened when Renato contacted Shamal and brought the man to see exactly what they would need to do in order to bring his kitten back to proper health that would give him quite a few headaches and far too many questions.

The two of them had stared at each other in absolute shock...and what could only be recognition.

"Pup?" said Shamal slowly, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"S-Sirius?!" she said, before promptly fainting from shock. Renato was barely able to catch her before she hit her head on the table.

Renato glared at Shamal, before he carefully maneuvered his sister onto one of the couches. A little bit of water from a glass she had on the table woke her up.

"Explain. How do you two already know each other?"

"Forget that. What the hell is she doing here with you?!" said Shamal once he got over his shock.

"He's my brother," said Jasmine.

Sirius, or rather _Shamal_ as he preferred to be known now that he was far from England, blinked twice.

"Wait... this is Richard?" said Shamal incredulous. He had stumbled on James' son by accident and ended up friends with him?

"Will someone mind explaining what the hell is going on before I break out my gun?" Renato asked crossly. He did _not_ like being kept out of the loop.

Shamal looked at Renato and winced.

"A couple months ago I faked my death in England so I could finally be free of the headmaster's manipulations. It was pretty clear he was never going to let me out of the house or bother to clear my name, so I decided to hell with it, I'll just be Shamal full time."

"You couldn't have told me you were alive?!" said Jasmine angrily, tears streaming down her face.

"After what Snape did to your shields, I couldn't risk my other identity getting out. I was planning to come get you by next year at least...though it seems Ren beat me to the punch. I'm sorry you had to see that illusion pup," said Shamal wincing. "It was hard enough to fool Remus into believing I was there while I was out working as Shamal."

Jasmine was still mad he faked his death...but at the same time she was so relieved he was still alive.

Shamal accepted the slap without complaint...and the tackle-hug she gave him after.

Renato, on the other hand, had a major headache from this particular revelation. At least he knew Shamal, Sirius, whatever name he called himself wouldn't be hitting on his sister.


	26. Shatterpoint Chapter One

**_Fate/Grand Order (you can find it on Google Play or as a movie. It's called Fate/Grand Order: First Order) cross._**

* * *

Warm amber eyes opened up when she felt the bed moving slightly. A small green creature crawled from where it had been napping on the pillow to lick her cheek.

"Mmm... where am I?"

"Ah! You're awake!"

The girl slowly lifted herself up to look around. She was in a room, the light was on and there were two men with her.

"How are you feeling? You seem to have been knocked out cold by the Spiritron particles when you went through the initial calibration phase," said a man wearing a lab coat.

"Where am I?"

"My room," said the other boy.

"Why am I in your room?" she asked, still dazed. She could feel Leon crawling onto her head, but didn't really notice it overly much. She was used to him by now.

The doctor looked rather sheepish at that.

"I couldn't exactly play hookie _and_ leave a patient alone in the infirmary, so I carried you to my usual hiding place," he admitted. "But now that you're awake I can make sure there aren't any other adverse side effects. Most people aren't knocked out like you were during a simple calibration test."

She sat calmly on the bed, and let the doctor examine her.

"First off, do you remember your name?"

"Sora Sinclair," she replied after a moment. It wasn't quite right, but it seemed to fit well enough for her.

"Age?"

"Eighteen."

"Well I can obviously see you're female... what's your little lizard's name?"

"Leon...and he's a shape-changing chameleon."

"Shape-changing..." started the doctor.

"Chameleon?"

"He belongs to someone very precious to me. Someone who is irreplaceable. Except they had to go away for a long while, so they left me their partner to make sure I didn't get lonely or forget."

It was like an echo of a memory. Telling her not to forget. To never give up or let go of the past. To keep fighting and bring back her precious person.

Leon crawled into her hand and turned into a familiar green gun.

"That's why I came to Chaldeas. To bring my friend back. To bring all of them back."

"...I'm not sure that's possible. From the way you're reacting, I suspect your friend is..." started Dr. Roman.

There was a massive explosion. Considering the two males had been enjoying some hot coffee and snacks while she slept on the bed, they were entirely unprepared for it.

All the same, the three of them bolted to the main command center where the Chaldeas was rotating slowly above.

The boy went to the girl slowly dying from being pinned. The doctor ran to get the back-up generator going.

Sora looked up at the Chaldeas, with an odd look of serenity on her face.

"Soon. Soon it will begin and I can see them again. My precious friends..."

She hugged Leon tighter to her, and the chameleon licked her cheek. He missed his human partner too, and had only stayed because that man had told him to keep an eye on his foolish student.

The one child that could make a truthful claim of calling that man her father in every way that mattered.

* * *

"Owie... where am I now?"

Amber eyes opened to find a disaster. There were no people. The city was completely barren of all life.

It was horrifying.

"Awake, are we little lady?"

She almost yelped, realizing she was in the lap of a man with rather odd clothing and blue hair. But there was warmth in him...a familiar warmth that told her he could be trusted.

"Who... are you?"

"Hm... call me Caster. That is my role in this Grail War after all," he said with a cocky smirk.

She blushed, making Caster laugh a little more and grin at her.

"How long have I been out?"

"About an hour or so. At least that's around the time I found you. You're the first human Master I've seen in the past three days since this mess started," said Caster.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. A fire sprang out of nowhere, and without any explanation all the humans disappeared...including our Masters. Then Saber went nuts and restarted the Grail War. I'm the only one she hasn't corrupted that's still left."

"A fire..." said Sora, looking around.

Somehow, she _knew_ what the cause of the fire was. Except she couldn't remember.

"By the way, little lady...what's your name?"

"My name? Call me Sora. This little one is Leon."

Leon crawled onto her hand and stared at Caster.

Caster was about to say something, but he sensed the presence of another Master...and a proper Servant.

"Think you can walk?"

She tried to get up, but her legs were still a bit wobbly. Caster grinned and without any warning at all he scooped her up in his arms.

It was faster than matching her pace, at any rate.

"Wow... you're really strong, Taiyo-san," said Sora.

"What did you call me?" asked Caster, baffled.

"Taiyo. Meaning 'sun'," she clarified.

"My name is Caster, not 'Taiyo'."

"But you feel as bright and warm like sunlight to me," said Sora smiling. She grinned when she realized that saying such a thing with an honest and straight face got _Caster_ to blush. "And the way you used your magic was really cool!"

"It was just runes," said Caster embarrassed.

"Yeah, but I doubt I could do something like that," said Sora.

"Eh, it just takes a little practice," said Caster, scratching his cheek. "I bet I could get you casting like that in a few days, if you really put in the effort."

Something about this Master had him somewhat eager to please. It was like she was a breath of fresh air mixed with untainted innocence and a genuine personality that was hard to compete with. The kind of person that could make even hardened criminals turn over a new leaf just to see her smile at them.

As they went to find the other Master and Servant still active, Sora suddenly recognized one of them.

"Ah! It's Mash-san and Fujimaru-kun!"

"Friends of yours?" he asked. She nodded quickly. "Guess it wouldn't hurt to lend them a hand then."

He grinned and made his grand introduction.

 _A short while later..._

"Sora-chan! I was worried you didn't make it when the drive activated," said Fujimaru.

"Who are you?" demanded the Director. Mash looked equally confused at her appearance.

She looked like any other Master applicant...except Mash had no recollection of seeing her.

Fujimaru looked surprised at their reactions, especially when Dr. Roman contacted them to talk to Caster.

 _"Thank goodness you're alright, Sora-chan. It seems all four of you made it to the Singularity safely!"_

"Roman, you know this girl?" demanded the Director.

" _Master Candidate 27, Sora Sinclair. She had an odd reaction to the calibration test and was still out cold when the first applicants were sent in to the coffins. She woke up just before the explosion happened,"_ said Roman. Fujimaru nodded, because he had noticed her sleeping on his bed when he walked in.

The Director, however, was not convinced.

"The only potential Masters missing from the coffins was this fool who fell asleep during orientation. Everyone else was already waiting," she said, staring hard at Sora.

Something nudged Sora in her memories. She looked like she was getting a headache.

"You alright, little lady?" asked Caster with open concern.

"I'm fine. I just have a headache."

"Who are you really?" demanded the Director.

"I told you, my name is Sora Sinclair," she said, trying not to collapse. Her headache was really starting to hurt.

Fou jumped onto her shoulder and licked her cheek.

" _Director, aren't you being a little harsh? She might have had a bad reaction to the Spiritron particles... there have been side effects before,"_ said Roman, trying to calm the irate Magus down.

"Tch. Fine, but I know for a fact you aren't one of the Master candidates that were selected. I can't sense even the least bit of prana or od from you."

"Caster certainly seems to like her," commented Fujimaru.

"Well she's definitely a Master, I can tell you that much," said Caster blithely. "I can sense the command seals on her."

Sora found her hand taken by the Director, who examined it for the red markings. Only to find both her right and left hands completely unmarked.

"Is this some sort of joke? She doesn't have a single Command Seal on her."

"Ah. Director I can sense two Masters present as well. Both of them are standing right here," said Mash.

"You do know that sometimes the seals will manifest in odd places. I've heard them showing up on an arm before, or even on the back," said Caster.

"I am not stripping just to prove I have these Command Seals," said Sora without the slightest hint of hesitation.

"Hmph. I suppose that without a real explanation I can accept your claim as a Master Candidate...but know this, I am watching you. We still don't know who or what sabotaged the experiment," said the Director. "And it wouldn't be _that_ hard to hypnotize that idiot Roman into believing your cover story."

" _...I take great offense to that,"_ said Roman.

As they were making their way to where the Grail...and consequently Saber...was, Caster decided to strike up a conversation with the little Master.

"You're not exactly with them, are you?" he asked quietly.

"Something bad happened. Something that would effect more than just humans. I was the only one that could be sent," said Sora. "I can't remember what it was though...just that I lost something really, really important so certain adjustments had to be made before I could be sent."

She cuddled Leon closely.

"I think it has something to do with why I have Leon and not his original partner. It was really sad though... so sad I thought I would break from it."

Caster was quiet. From the sound of things, someone had meddled in a way that caused her to lose people very precious to her, and they had hidden her memories to keep her sane. At least long enough to find out what the hell was going on and to hopefully start the process of fixing whatever was tampered with.

Even _he_ knew that the fire that claimed the city and made the humans and their Masters vanish wasn't normal.

The little chameleon must be one of the things anchoring her to her duty while reminding her what she was fighting for.

He wouldn't mind being her Servant for real. She seemed like she'd be an adorable Master to follow and actually care about his opinions.

The Director went up to the roof to prepare herself for the fight ahead, while Mash and Fujimaru took the time to bond a little.

Caster, on the other hand? He decided to take advantage of the break to teach the unknown Master about runes since she had expressed an interest. It wasn't like he'd last very long once Saber was dealt with.

Sora was a very bright and attentive student... though apparently the last tutor she had liked to make sure she paid attention through bullets and explosives.

She was still very fond of the man though.

Caster was almost disappointed when the oldest member (not including him) declared it was time to go, having rested and finished her preparations.

Sora had memorized at least ten runes, six of which were good for quick casting and the other four could be used to amplify or make the first six even more effective. And he didn't get why the woman said that Sora wasn't a magus...she was able to use his runes (particularly the fire ones) just fine from what he saw!

* * *

 _Some time later_

Something in her head was pounding. It was warning her that something terrible was happening and that this was only the beginning.

At least Caster was nice to her...if a bit flirtatious. He kept calling her 'little lady' and giving her these odd winks, but was actually quite the roguish gentleman. He seemed to be doing everything he could get her to blush around him, much to the annoyance of the Director.

And her back felt warm. Too warm to be normal around him. Like it was trying to tell her something.

As they were walking towards the entrance where the grail was, Caster slipped something around Sora's right wrist. It took her a moment to register that the silver bracelet he had been wearing was missing...and was now around her own wrist.

"Consider this a way to remember me when this is all over. Servants don't tend to stick around after the war is said and done, and you seem like you'd be an _interesting_ little Master," he said with a flirtatious wink.

He seemed rather surprised by the gentle, if chaste kiss on the cheek for that.

"Consider that for luck then. Not that I think you'll need it," she said. Caster grinned at that, and hoped the bracelet survived so that the little lady could summon him as her Servant properly. Somehow he had the feeling this was only the start and that she'd need him sooner rather than later.

Though he also got the feeling he'd have to contend with others... what he hadn't told the stuffy woman was that he hadn't sensed the presence of _one_ set of Command Seals.

He'd sensed no less than _seven_ sets...one for each Servant Class normally available. Likely why the markings hadn't appeared on the back of the hand as they normally did...such a thing would require much more space, and was likely on her back instead.

It would be interesting to see what sort of shape those seals took. Each set was unique and tended to say a lot about the Magus' personality.

* * *

Sora stared at King Arthur...who was apparently a woman. Sensible to hide her gender then, considering during those times women had next to no rights and England certainly wouldn't have allowed a _woman_ to take the throne. They barely tolerated Queen Elizabeth, and that was because the king had no male heirs at the time! Despite taking multiple wives!

"Saber... I have to ask why did you restart the Grail War? Surely you must have had a compelling reason to do so, despite the fact your Master had disappeared," said Sora, trying to reason with the Servant.

Something seemed to pass between Saber and Sora. A sort of strange kinship.

"Grand Order. Though you would know better than most why I was forced to restart the war and subjugate the other Servants, Guardian," acknowledged Saber.

Olga (the director) froze the moment said the words "Grand Order".

"How do you know about the Grand Order?" she demanded.

Saber looked at her with something close to pity.

"You have eyes, but do not see. You have ears, but do not listen," said Saber cryptically. "I cannot allow you past this point."

It would seem the time for talk was over. But Sora _knew_ that Saber was trying to tell them something.

The way she called her "Guardian" resonated with her very soul, warning her that the memories were about to come back. And she would not like it when they did.

What was Grand Order, and why did she feel as though it had something to do with the fact she had no memory of entering the Chaldeas program? Why did she wake up in that room with no idea how she had gotten there, other than a sense that she _needed_ to be there and that she had to follow Mash and the others to this point?

Why couldn't she remember?

And then it hit her when the battle was over and Caster had disappeared. She reached down to touch the odd crystal formation that had appeared where Saber had been...and the moment her skin came into contact with it she knew.

She _remembered_ what had happened and why she was there. Why she had her memories temporarily suppressed until this point.

She nearly collapsed with a gasp.

"Sora-chan, what's wrong?" asked Fujimaru, openly alarmed.

The sound of slow clapping filled the air, and the second Sora saw the source her face contorted into a very angry scowl.

It was _him_.

Her hand grasped into a fist, unaware of the fact she still had that strange crystal in her hand. Something on her back seemed to flare with _power_ , answering her inner desires. The crystal in her hand resonated with her soul and the markings on her back, creating a pathway that would take a few moments to fully set up and prepare itself for the summoning.

The man who caused all this, who created so much suffering barely took note of her. To be fair, she was partially hidden by Mash's shield.

The remnants of the crystal flew to him, giving him some power over time and space. But the majority of the magic inside of it had already been absorbed by her.

Then Mash moved the shield, just a little as she tried to keep Fujimaru from running after Olga who was floating to her death...and the man saw her finally.

"You. I killed you and that pathetic family. How are you here?" he said in fury.

Sora cast aside all doubts, eyes glowing amber along with the inner fires she possessed.

"My name is Tsuna Sawada, tenth generation boss and Neo Primo of the Vongola familigia. Sky Guardian and Keeper of the linear time-space axis of Gaia," said Sora, or rather Tsuna, as she drew out a ring she hadn't realized was around her neck and fitted it onto her right hand, along with another. A loud "Gao!" was heard as a lion appeared wreathed in Flames, and it took point next to her as the rings morphed into armor for her hands. "I am here to reclaim the balance that you so callously destroyed when you annihilated the proper flow of history."

"Balance, what balance?" sneered Leff.

"You were so concerned with the Magus side of things that you never thought to look into the underworld side. The Cosa Nostra has been keeping the balance of this world intact for well over a thousand years...and you completely destroyed it. So I was sent to bring it back."

"I killed you personally, you little wretch. How did you survive?"

 _ **E'la nostra ora incisa sull'anello.**_

 **Our hour was engraved on the ring.**

"Time that has been etched into the Throne cannot be undone. Not by mortal hands. And regardless of whatever powers you have claimed, you are mortal," said Tsuna with conviction.

Leff was pissed, but at least he got to kill off the simpering twit called Olga of the Animasphere family.

Before Tsuna passed out, she did see one thing.

A familiar head of blue hair and red eyes catching her and holding her close in his arms. Except this time he seemed to be carrying a lance and wearing armor.

" _I've got you, little lady."_


	27. Shifting Souls Chapter One

Dead silence. There was a predator in the area and it was on the hunt. All the prey knew this, but also knew that it would not attack their young.

Amber eyes narrowed in on one particular target... a lithe, small form stalked through the trees. Muscles tensed.

The target was locked on and ready. It just had to wait for that perfect moment to strike. It was nothing if not patient.

The birds in the trees tensed...before suddenly taking off as the scent of fresh blood filled the air. A body thudded to the ground, as the animals around it scattered to the four winds.

They would regroup later, but for now they wanted nothing to do with the predator.

The clouds above parted to reveal a boy about fifteen or sixteen, with wild caramel colored hair, eyes the color of twilight, and a lithe figure meant for speed and precision. His clothing was old, but well loved. He had no shoes on and he had no weapon with which to take down the deer.

He didn't need one.

He bent down and managed to pick up the decently sized doe. It was bigger than he was, but he had no problems carrying it. His body was built for compacted muscle and speed, rather than overt power and bulk. The sort of thing perfect for a large cat.

He carried to deer to a small cottage that overlooked a cliff. It was ten miles from town, but the two that lived there didn't mind. Once the shock of isolation wore off, the two learned to appreciate the peace, quiet and privacy of the location.

"Tsu-kun! Welcome home! Have a good hunt?"

Tsuna growled and chuffed, before setting the deer down outside in an area that was cordoned off for cleaning prey.

His mother walked outside and beamed when she saw his catch. She ruffled his hair while bringing out a large cooler and some very sharp knives. What they wouldn't eat would be tossed over the cliff for the foxes and other scavengers to eat.

One would think that the two would worry about wild animals following the scent of the prey back to their house and making a mess.

Nana and Tsuna never had to worry about that sort of thing, because all the animals in the forest knew that the house and most of the area around it was their den. And no one wanted to piss off a predator bigger and more vicious than they were.

Nana cooked one of the best cuts before tossing it to her son...who grabbed it with his hands and started chewing without bothering to use utensils. The only reason she even bothered to cook it at all is because she's well aware that _human_ bodies sometimes have adverse reactions to uncooked meat.

Though she only cooked it enough to be safe, but still very bloody.

Tsuna curled up on the beaten up couch and purred once he finished his meal. He had worked hard today, and since it was one of the days he hunted, he had been allowed to skip out on the 'school work' his mother insisted was necessary. Most of his body was on the couch, though his arms and legs tended to casually lean off the side, almost touching the floor.

He was the very picture of a large cat that was dosing off in the sun after a hunt.

Nana hummed as she continued with her housework.

Neither of them knew anything of what was to happen within a few short days.

* * *

Reborn frowned, before he called the "Idiot Lion" as he called him.

"Ciaossu. Iemitsu, you moron, I thought you said your family lived in Namimori?"

" _Did something happen?"_ said Iemitsu in shock.

"According to all the neighbors they moved out of town almost nine years ago. Though wherever they are, it's still close enough for them to make the festivals."

Reborn was openly cursing Iemitsu's stupidity. How the hell did that idiot miss the fact his wife and son moved out of the house, when he supposedly made the occasional trip here?

Now he was going to have to look for the two, without any clues to where they were.

Well he did like a challenge. Imagine his confusion finding them living ten miles outside town in an area he would have chosen to train his new student to learn how to unlock his Hyper Dying Will mode.

The boy was lazing on a tree like a great cat, his right arm under his chin, with his left and both legs dangling off the branch. The second the wind shifted, the boys eyes shot open and he nearly caught his breath from shock.

Those were _shifter_ eyes.

"Ciaossu," he said cautiously.

If Tsuna was a shifter, that meant his mother was as well. Which meant he would have to be a lot more delicate about how he handled this situation.

Shifter laws went before Omerta, and the Vindice were doubly pissed if someone broke them. Though they mainly allowed the few shifters that were in the group handle it if the topic came up.

The boy didn't respond, merely stretched before he jumped off the branch with the nimbleness of a cat.

There were a variety of shifters in the world, though Reborn only had contact with one type.

Somehow he had the feeling he would have to call Fon in the second he found out why they were living just outside town this far out.

* * *

Nana's nose twitched, which only confirmed which side of the family Tsuna's shifting genes came from. As far as he was aware, Iemitsu was purely human. So was the rest of the Vongola though he suspected the "bastard" son Xanxus might have shifter blood in him. It would explain a lot.

"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

To the point. He could work with that, even if the 'oblivious' part he had heard repeatedly about had been worn out by living this far away from others and having to raise her son alone without help.

Reborn decided to cut to the chase.

"Your son is the last heir that can inherit a certain den that belongs to the mafia. All the ones before him are either dead or are currently imprisoned because they did something to harm the current 'Elder' of the den. As such I've been sent to train him in how to be a mafia boss," said Reborn bluntly, using what little shifter knowledge he had to make it easier.

Nana's eyes narrowed. She was definitely a shifter, because she was displaying all the warning signs he knew from Fon that said she was _not_ happy and would be more than pleased to show that in as vicious a manner as possible.

Calling Fon in was becoming more of a priority than ever.

"I will not let that false lion Iemitsu anywhere near his son. Not when it's his fault we were forced to leave our home."

Reborn inwardly cursed, though he kept his face blank.

"Iemitsu Sawada has no say in how I train your son, and if necessary we can remove all custody rights. Not that he'd have much to begin with, since he's the _external_ adviser. Your son could easily have him fired and forcibly relocated someplace unpleasant. Since you two are shifters, that renders any interference from him moot," said Reborn bluntly.

Shifters were still eligible as heirs, though it made things far more complicated.

Nana looked rather happy to hear that.

"May I ask why you moved to this house, rather than stay in town?"

Her face became tired, and Tsuna hugged his mother. It was clearly a sore topic.

"We were cast out of the den. The Elder made it clear our presence would not be welcomed in Namimori any longer, and considering Tsuna's condition it was safer for us to live outside the den limits than to press the issue. He studies hard and he does help around the house. We've been managing."

"His...condition?"

Tsuna looked at him oddly, before he moved his hands slowly in an odd pattern. It took Reborn a moment to realize he was signing, though most of them he was unfamiliar with. He only knew a few of those signs because of repeated exposure to Colonello and Lal.

"He's mute?"

This could be a major problem.

Tsuna growled in irritation, before he made an annoyed chuffing sound. Reborn's eyebrows raised up at that, before understanding came across his face.

He was calling Fon the first chance he had. This was beyond his area of expertise. It also looked like he'd be learning how to sign.

"Can he still understand human language?" asked Reborn.

Tsuna nodded.

"For some reason he is unable to speak Japanese, and he can no longer shift. I have no idea what Iemitsu did to my son, but Tsuna is trapped in this form," said Nana upset. "If not for the fact that the leopard and the human coexist as one, regardless of what form they're in, he might have been driven insane. Unfortunately his leopard side is too strong now, so we had to leave."

Reborn openly cursed.

"I know an Elder who might be able to help, or at least figure out what's causing this problem. It will be some time before he arrives though. He's a black panther."

Nana looked relieved. Then she looked at her son with concern.

"We've had to avoid our own kind all this time, because they sense something wrong with Tsu-kun... they've reacted almost worse than the humans in the past."

"The Elder I speak of won't make rash judgment, especially when I explain the situation to him. He's one of the calmest people I know."

Later that night, after one of the oddest dinners he had ever had (cooked to perfection, but with more meat than he was used to... thank god she had some decent coffee beans) Reborn had Leon turn into a phone and dialed a certain number.

" _Hello Reborn."_

" _Ciaossu, Fon. I have a problem."_

" _It must be unusual if you can't handle it yourself."_

" _My student is a shifter. As is his mother, though according to her, her leopard has yet to sync with her human half properly."_

Fon paused at the other end. For him to openly admit a shifter problem, that meant he would have to handle this far more delicately than normal.

" _What area?"_

" _They live ten miles outside Namimori."_

" _I think I know of who you're speaking about. I've heard rumors one of the leopard mothers had to move out of town because of a dispute with an Elder over her cub. I never bothered to inquire further,"_ said Fon calmly.

" _According to her, the 'sire' did something that 'locked' her cub's ability to shift and for some reason his leopard side is more dominant. The Elder bluntly told her that she could either leave the den, or kill her son."_

Fon was not happy, and Reborn didn't have to be near the Storm to know that.

" _I'll be there to assess the situation, though my interference would be limited at best. If I were the Elder of that den, I might be able to help out more but I belong to a different one. The only reason I can act at all is because my niece is part of that particular den."_

" _The boy is the heir of the Vongola familigia. Any help at all would be appreciated,"_ said Reborn tiredly.

* * *

In order to keep things remotely on schedule, Reborn decided to call in a kid he long suspected to be shifter, but didn't care enough to confirm.

Hayato Gokudera was a Storm Latent with decent prospects and almost terrifying loyalty once you had his trust. He jumped at the chance to be Tsuna's Storm even if he wondered why Reborn said things were complicated.

Hayato was very confused as to why he was introduced to the mother leopard first though. He thought she was a civilian.

"You can try introducing this little cub to Tsuna, though I would advise doing it slowly," said Nana after a moment.

"Cub?" repeated Reborn.

Hayato blushed. Of course she could tell he was leopard. But this was still the best shot he had at becoming the right hand man of a powerful figure.

His first reaction was to balk when he was introduced to Tsuna. Except Tsuna smelled more wary than he did.

On instinct, he tried something he used to do with Bianchi, before his human sire put an end to it saying it was "creepy" and "wrong". His mother had always done it with him, when she was allowed to visit.

He purred low in his throat, before rubbing his cheeks cautiously with Tsuna while hugging him. Tsuna perked up and did the same with a much louder one.

"Fascinating. Can I ask why they do that?" asked Reborn with open interest. Fon had never given him more than the basics, with the understanding Reborn would let him deal with any shifter matters if it came up.

"Think of it as a scent marking. There are scent glands in the cheeks, both in human and leopard forms, where the whiskers would be. It's basically a way for us to say we're 'friendly', or non-threatening," said Nana. "It allows us to mingle our scents, so that we know friends from foe without having to look."

Even Reborn had to smile when Tsuna playfully pulled Hayato into a little wrestling match on the floor. The silverette turned into a rather handsome snow leopard cub, half grown.

He was rather confused when Tsuna didn't follow his example, but he got over it when Tsuna's body language replied the same way it would as a leopard, right down to the happy growls and chuffs. The two of them ended up in a giant pile on the floor, purring.

Nana looked more pleased than Reborn was at the way they were bonding so easily.

Seeing as the two wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Reborn decided to speak to Nana about shifter hierarchy and the headaches he would be dealing with later. This was one time he couldn't exactly dump everything on Fon.

"You said his mother was a shifter and she died, correct?"

"His father would happily dump his son on a strong familigia if it meant using that connection later, and his sister had a different mother," said Reborn.

"Well the easiest way to bring Hayato into Tsuna's den would be to make him a litter mate."

"Litter mate?"

"Basically they'd be all but brothers in blood. There are lesser degrees of it, but I think he would benefit most from having Hayato as a full adopted litter mate, rather than a pack mate. Fortunately we have more than enough rooms, though odds are Tsuna wouldn't mind overly much about sharing. He's been rather lonely since we only ever get permission to go to town during big events and festivals, when it's open to everyone," said Nana sadly.

"May I ask why you were driven out? I would have thought that the den would have put you into seclusion in the shifter community rather than kick you out."

"They might have...except one of the Elders is rather notorious for his dislike of human/shifter pairings. He managed to spin the whole thing as 'damaged genetics' because Tsuna was born from a human/shifter pairing, despite the fact he was presented as was tradition before his fifth birthday as a full shifter. The only reason they can't drive us completely out of the area is because his mate happens to live in the den, though we've been leery of trying to find out who it is."

"Mate?"

"Shifters can either marry normally, or they can wait to find their destined mate. Either can produce children, but the older generations tend to favor those who will only marry those their leopards find a perfect match. Tsuna bumped into his when he was about eight or so, but outside of knowing she's a full shifter we haven't gone looking. They might drive her out as well," said Nana. "As such he'll never look towards another female with any real interest save for familial bonds. His leopard would never allow it."

"And the sign language?"

She smiled sadly.

"It's easier to claim he's a mute then explain to _humans_ that he's unable to speak like them. And it means a lesser risk of hunters catching on, so long as he hides his eyes. He can write fast to make himself 'heard', but he learned to sign just in case his whiteboard and markers aren't available. However anyone with leopard or cat-shifter blood would be able to understand him if he 'spoke'."

Reborn had a headache. His student wasn't mute, but he could only speak in leopard-tongue. He had all the instincts of a leopard trapped in a human body, and the local shifter community had made it clear they didn't want him around because he could accidentally bring hunters to their doorstep.

He could only hope Fon had a solution to this mess.


	28. Shifting Souls Chapter Two

**Not a crossover. Though I DID get the idea for this from Christine Feehan's Leopard Shifter series. XD**

* * *

Fon's first instinct when he comes to the territory is to growl. He can sense a major spiritual imbalance in the household and it's all centered on one of the cubs. Not the little snow leopard, but the one that smelled of the female in the house.

He knew without being told that the boy had likely been avoiding the local shifters considering what one of the Elders felt about human/shifter pairings. That man was a total pain to deal with...thankfully he respected the fact Sakura refused to even look at the other shifter males in the den when she started showing signs of having met her mate.

Despite the fact she was from a powerful bloodline and would produce strong cubs.

Fortunately Sakura could still beat the living hell out of any of the males in her age group or those who might risk the ire of the Elders to try and force the issue. They were more afraid of her than they were the Elders at this point, some were even subservient to her!

Fon made sure they caught his scent long before he stepped on the property. He could smell the difference in the mother and cub...the mother was wary, but hopeful, and the cub had more or less retreated behind the safety of his mother's scent. The other cub was wary, but stayed put.

Reborn only noticed the tenseness in their shoulders, but could only guess why.

When the snow leopard cub opened the door to let Fon in, he quickly realized that his ability to act was a lot more generous than he had originally assumed.

No wonder his niece was having absolutely no luck tracking down her mate. And she had looked, repeatedly over the years.

"Ni hao. Reborn called me in to see if I could help," he said politely.

Rather than approach the boy directly, which he knew would almost certainly not end well, he pulled something out of his robes.

It was a small ball made of soft yarn, though the way the two boys perked up had Reborn staring. With a light toss, it landed in the halfway point of the living room and where he was standing.

Tsuna waited for permission before he began to play with it, with Hayato joining his side soon after.

"I didn't know he was that attracted to yarn balls."

Nana let out a light laugh.

"It's not the string that interests him. That's specially grown catnip that's specifically designed to bring out the more playful side in large cats."

"My den has entire greenhouses worth of it. They export it to the other clans, and I thought bringing some would ease the tension," said Fon smiling. "May I?"

Nana nodded, and Fon let Tsuna catch his scent before he approached. The boy tensed, but allowed Fon near him enough to pet his hair.

"I take it the healers couldn't find out what's wrong with him?"

Nana nodded sadly.

"That's not surprising. From what I can sense, it's more of a spiritual imbalance that's been locked that way more than a physical issue. Something is forcibly keeping his leopard dominant while his human side can only act in the background. I can only assume something happened when he was mid-shift, because that's the only explanation I can think of to explain this."

Reborn had a bad feeling about this.

"Would putting a Flame seal on him be among those?"

Fon looked at Reborn sharply.

"That would certainly cause this mess. You know something."

"From what I was told he was Flame Active when he was five, and Iemitsu asked Timoteo to put a Flame Seal on him since he didn't want to drag his family into the mafia. Apparently Tsuna nearly took a chunk out of his arm in the process," said Reborn cautiously. "I highly doubt he's aware his wife is a shifter though... it almost certainly would have been mentioned before I arrived."

Fon looked very pissed off. He wasn't the only one...Nana was positively growling.

"So it _was_ that false lion's fault!" she said furious. She had always suspected, but could never confirm it. And without proof the den Elders would never rescind their banishment.

Fon took a calming breath.

"Iemitsu and Timoteo Vongola will have a lot to answer for in the Shifter's Council if a Flame Seal did this to an innocent cub. To say nothing of what will happen when the Vindice get through with them. I do have one important question for you madam. Did you happen to take your son to the local shrine festival under fox masks around seven or eight years ago?"

Nana blinked, before she realized what he wasn't asking.

"Ah. You know who Tsuna's mate is. He was so worried when the mark presented itself...it's the only reason the den was unable to completely drive us away."

"I highly suspect my niece and your son are mates," confirmed Fon. "She's been very vexed since she has been unable to find him, even if she's happy that it's kept the more traditional members of our family from forcing her into an arranged marriage. It also means I can intercede with the local Elders and hopefully convince them to let you back into town...though you'll have to avoid the shifter-only areas until this is fixed."

Nana looked relieved.

"In the meantime, I can at least start to correct the spiritual imbalance so his leopard isn't the dominant side. Has there been any other effects?"

"He can't speak human anymore. And his eyes have stayed like that for years," said Nana immediately. "He's only been able to use leopard-tongue, so he's been trained to act as though he's mute and carries a whiteboard with markers around."

Fon nodded. It was a wise move and it lowered the risk of people figuring out what he was.

"You said he was Flame Active. Which type?" he asked Reborn.

"Sky. A rather strong one, since he was almost stronger than Federico at the time. With enough training he could easily dwarf most of the other Vongola Skies, save for possibly Xanxus," said Reborn immediately.

"That explains why you brought the Storm child in," said Fon. "It also means he will almost certainly have some form of telepathic ability...that will make it easier to hide what he is until this is fixed."

"Telepath?"

"Shifters with strong Flame abilities, especially Skies, tend to develop secondary psychic abilities. I have a rather strong empathy ability and a minor telekinetic/telepathic one. Considering his inability to speak human, I would almost guarantee he's going to be a telepath with possible empath abilities," said Fon.

With quick, painless jabs using his Chi, Fon hit several spiritual blocks on Tsuna's body. He could sense several old paths waking up and sluggishly moving the way they should have been, and the spiritual imbalance in the household slowly dissipating. It was still there, but it would eventually quit causing such a strong knee-jerk reaction of "rejection" from other shifters.

It would still take a few days, which meant he had time to visit the local Shifter council and possibly bring his niece in to confirm his suspicions about the mate bond.

At the very least if they weren't mates, then she could still hopefully bond to the boy as his Cloud or Mist Guardian. She had gone Active over a year ago dealing with a particularly stubborn male shifter who came from another den and wouldn't take "get lost" as an answer.

* * *

Hibari Sakura (known better to the 'humans' as Hibari Kyouya, since she found it less irritating by hiding her gender... she was not a domestic person and refused to be forced into those classes for something as ridiculous as being a girl) was irritated for all of five minutes when she found out Fon was back.

"What do you want, Elder?" she growled.

"I believe I have found who your mate is. And why they haven't presented themselves before now," said Fon.

She sat up, interested now. At first it had been bored interest and irritation, finding out who her mate was.

Now it was a matter of pride. She was not going to let them just show up and disappear, after all the effort she went to trying to find them.

"Explain."

"I would rather confirm that he is in fact the boy you have been looking for before I bring this up with the local council. Things with him are...complicated. And almost certainly involve the other 'den' I belong to," said Fon. It was clear that whatever the complication was, it had pissed him off. Immensely and almost certainly to violence.

Sakura grabbed her gakuran and tonfas.

"Fair word of warning...the mother and son are leery of other shifters. You'll have to flare your scent before you fully enter the property."

Sakura blinked.

"What."

"You'll understand when you meet them."

She followed the older panther to the outskirts of town. She was already beginning to guess _who_ they were about to see.

Then the scent hit her. Her nose flared, and without even thinking twice about it she shifted into her other form. It had been rather awkward when her cat and human side synced so early, so soon after puberty. Thank the gods for Fon.

A rumbling purr filled the air.

Fon looked rather pleased himself.

"What the hell?" said Reborn.

Tsuna was up in the tree outside. He had caught her scent as well, though he was a bit more cautious. Though he did flare his scent back, which lead to Sakura jumping up to join him on an adjoining branch. She soon settled down for a cat nap. Fon had interrupted hers, and the branch was just perfect for catching the afternoon sun.

"...Do I even want to know?"

"It looks like my suspicions were correct. Which means I'll have a lot more leeway with the locals," explained Fon. "It also means you won't have to look for a Cloud or a wife for your student."

Reborn nodded, clearly not going to ask. That was two headaches he wouldn't have to deal with.

Fon looked at Nana, who was already smiling sadly at the way the two were curling up on the branches. Hayato clearly had no idea how to react.

"If you take a lower branch, she likely won't react much," advised Fon.

With a little nod from the older Storm, Hayato shifted into his leopard form and cautiously took a spot two branches below the others. Sakura didn't even look up from where she was napping.

Hayato was clearly a beta, which meant he would know better than to try and take a higher branch. He was a respectful distance from the two 'Alphas' without being too submissive. If he were younger, he might have gotten away with curling up next to Tsuna.

"Well?" asked Reborn.

"Because my niece is openly bonded to another shifter, I can act on her behalf to hopefully allow you to move back into town. Having the two separated like this isn't good for either of them, and with a little help Tsuna might be able to hide his true nature from the humans. There are special glasses that our kind wear to hide the reflective sheen that comes from shifter blood. As for the Elder that cast you out... I've been wanting a reason to go after him for years," said Fon.

Nana looked relieved.

"I suppose I'll have to get Hayato brushed up on sign language," said Reborn. "We can claim he's Tsuna's interpreter, since it's unlikely anyone would know how to read sign, and it's a hassle to carry the board everywhere. It should be simple enough to arrange for them to be in all the same classes."

"How good is Tsuna with cubs?" asked Fon to Nana.

"He hasn't interacted with them since we moved out here, though he tends to leave the young of the animals he hunts alone. All the prey around here know he won't go after those with only one parent, so they don't bother to react when he's hunting."

"You're kidding," said Reborn.

"Where did you think we got the meat?" said Nana smiling. "Tsuna does most of the hunting, and I grow a small garden. The local scavengers tend to hang around the cliff whenever they know it's one of his hunting days because we throw the leftovers over the side of it for them to eat. Animals are more empathetic than humans after all."

Fon considered that.

"Would you rather move back into your old home, or would you be content with staying out here with permission from the council to be allowed back into the city and your son in the school?"

"After finding out it was Iemitsu's fault we were banished in the first place, I have doubts I could stand that home. Besides, it would be hard to explain Tsuna's habit of bringing home meat and dealing with the complaints about stray dogs or cats coming for the leftovers."

Fon nodded. They had adjusted to life away from humans. If they weren't inclined to move back into a home where they would have to hide their true selves, it would be easier to just argue for rights to be in the shifter territory outside of the days when it was open for all.

Besides, it meant Tsuna could let his leopard side out freely when he wasn't at school or trying to socialize in town. He knew his niece preferred the peace and quiet as opposed to the crowding of humanity. She barely tolerated her den as it was.

She was very much a classic Cloud.

"Do you mind if I leave her here?"

"So long as she doesn't start a major fight, she's free to visit whenever she likes," said Nana easily. She was Tsuna's mate and it was ridiculous to stand on formalities.

Sakura seemed very pleased with the way dinner was conducted, if the way she eagerly ripped into the deer shank (which was only cooked until it was safe for human consumption and still very bloody...Reborn was the only one in the house who ate his meat medium-well, rather than a very bloody rare) and seemed to almost cuddle next to Tsuna. He was only a little bit neater about it than she was. He had to stare a bit at the growling pile of large cats in the living room.


	29. Accidental Father Chapter One

It was something he had done a thousand times before. Jump into an unsuspecting body, take it over, use it as he saw fit and then leave it.

Rinse and repeat, as it were.

He didn't know _what_ made him chose that little girl who was so innocently playing in the park. Her mother was oblivious to the danger, not that she would have known what to do.

One moment he was possessing some random bystander...the next he was inside the girl's head, attempting to take control.

Except he ran into something he never would have anticipated, much less planned for.

The girl was a _Sky_. One that had yet to awaken her flames, but he could still tell what they were. More than that the Flames themselves felt so damn familiar he could never have mistaken them for anything else.

The girl was related to the same Sky he had betrayed all those centuries ago after Elena's death.

In a fit of panic, he tried to run. To get away from the memories and those pure untainted Sky Flames.

Except it was too late. The moment he entered her soul, her fledgling Flames reacted...and to his open horror and shock, he could feel himself _harmonizing_ with the child. He had thought he was incapable of it after he abandoned his body.

Daemon Spade, after several centuries of running from his own past, was now caught by the reincarnated soul of the Vongola Primo.

Giotto and the others would be torn between pissed Daemon had even thought to possess a girl not even five...or laughing their ass off that a girl who hadn't even activated her Flames had managed to trap the vindictive Mist.

Daemon didn't know whether to curse or cry.

He settled for sulking in the corner of her mind like a petulant child while trying to figure out how the hell he was supposed to get out of this predicament _now_.

The girl remained completely oblivious of her new passenger and Mist Guardian.

* * *

 _Seven months later..._

Daemon's irritation with being stuck with a child died the day Iemitsu brought Vongola Nono to the house.

He knew a set up when he saw one, and this reeked of incompetence. He had disliked Iemitsu _long_ before he had to deal with being stuck in the man's daughter. How the hell someone _that_ incompetent managed to produce a sweet little girl who reminded him so painfully of a more innocent Elena, he would never understand.

For the most part, their visit _appeared_ benign... right up until little Eleanor as he had taken to calling her activated her Flames. (He _refuses_ to call her "Tsunako", because it is a ridiculous and unattractive name for a little girl and makes him curse Iemitsu for his stupidity all the more.)

Iemitsu reacted badly, to say the least. The _second_ Daemon hears the words "Flame" and "Seal" put in the same sentence as his little Sky, he acts.

Like hell is he going to let this idiot seal his own child because he doesn't want to be there for her and actually _train_ her. He has SEEN the effects a Flame Seal can have on an Active child, and he knows that such a thing would not only dim her fire, but do far more harm than good.

She would become a bare ember of what she could have been, if she was sealed. A mere shell of what she could be, to say nothing of the fact that such seals would only suppress her ability to _use_ her Flame and have absolutely no effect on Sky Attraction.

She would be bullied and tormented and have no idea why everyone focused on her more than other easily targeted children.

No. Just No.

Daemon latches on to her Active Flame and through dint of long experience of doing this with Giotto, twists it just a little to include his Mist.

It accepted his Flame with ease, as her body has grown used to his presence and her Flames know him as one of her Guardians instinctively.

With a little bit of Mist, he causes a minor distraction in the form of a loud scream and a gunshot outside. Eleanor hears nothing, too tired from activating her Flames for the first time. But the experienced mafioso react and run outside to find out the source of the sounds. The Storm doesn't even bother to keep an eye on the child, not really.

Which makes it pathetically easy for him to hide the girl from their senses and leave a perfect copy.

He is well aware of the role of a Mist Guardian. He helped to set an example of a Mist Guardian.

Creating something from nothing, nothing from something. Bewildering the enemy through deceit and trickery and shielding the Sky through illusions...that was the role of a Mist.

And if the Vongola had fallen so far as to seal a _Sky_ this pure and potentially powerful...well, he had no issues keeping the little one far, far away from Iemitsu and the Ninth boss.

The mother was barely acceptable, if highly oblivious. It just made it easier to mold the child into a real Sky without anyone noticing.

* * *

Tsunako isn't afraid of the man inside her head. Even if the adults around her all shake their heads and humor her while the children keep their distance at the orders of their parents.

Daemon is nice. Creepy, and she's the only one who can see him, but nice.

He doesn't think she's slow and even helps her with her homework. Sometimes he gives her 'homework' too, but he explains things better than her teachers when she has trouble getting it.

It's thanks to him that she becomes proficient in not only Italian, but English, Chinese, French, Spanish, German and Latin. Which only includes how to _read_ said languages.

When she is nine, her teachers try to 'gently' coax her towards making friends, if only so she would drop her "imaginary" one.

Daemon is not amused. At all.

Those teachers are discreetly 'sent away' after a month when they try to convince Nana that perhaps her daughter would do better in 'special social groups' that encourage children into making friends and talking to the adults.

Nana, to her credit, disliked the idea immediately. Her daughter was _happy_ with her 'imaginary friend' and her grades were among the best in her class.

Sure, it was disappointing that Tsu-chan didn't have any normal friends, but she didn't see a problem with it. Sometimes it took a while for children to come out of their shell.

Daemon liked Nana just a bit more when she refuses to force her daughter into said 'special social groups' at the suggestion of the teachers.

Still, the fools did have a point. Talking to thin air wasn't considered _normal_. And she was a bit too young to have a cell phone.

So it was with a reluctant sigh that Daemon gently broke her of the habit of answering him _out loud_ , and instead got her to start speaking to him with her thoughts.

He was in her head. He could hear her just fine without having to verbalize it.

Suddenly the teachers had a problem with the fact she wasn't talking to anyone, and instead started to adapt a glazed expression except when someone asked her a question directly.

It was like she couldn't win!

Daemon was becoming quite frustrated with modern teachers and their inability to leave things be.

His little Sky would never fit the mold they demanded of her. Doing that would only hinder her true nature and make her weaker as a result.

Besides, she was a Sky. It was inevitable that she would end up in the mafia at some point, or at least associated with it and having the civilian mindset they were trying to shove down her throat would only get her killed in a hurry.

He was just about at the end of his patience when he spots it. Or to be more specific, a _him_.

A boy who could have passed for Asari Ugetsu's son, complete with Latent Rain flames and a hint of possibly Mist.

Well, the teachers did want his Sky to make 'friends', and if the resemblance is anything more than a coincidence he may have found his Sky's first real Guardian...and he refuses to be counted as such because he's still _stuck in her body_ and thus of limited help.

Even with the discreet Flame training he has her going through whenever they can get away for days at a time (thank god for Nana's oblivious nature), Tsuna could still barely maintain her Dying Will state for more than ten minutes.

She's still a child. Fortunately that limitation does not apply to her mental realm, where he puts her through the metaphorical ringer and forces her to think _outside_ the box known as conventional wisdom.

For a Mist (and she had developed a Mist secondary as a result of his presence) the only thing that really limited their ability to mess with reality was belief and imagination.

And no, he did not subtly redirect the girl to the less annoying magical girl shows after she got hooked on the genre and wanted to reproduce the more ridiculous ones.

The outfits he could live with. The idiotic speeches about love and friendship which made absolutely no sense and only gave enemies an opening to kill you with he could not.

Let it be said that watching the first season of _Sailor Moon_ had scarred Daemon for life. To say nothing of how appalled he was of "Crystal Tokyo"...he spent the next week explaining in excruciating detail about how the entire thing sounded more like the girl brainwashed an entire planet into playing nice because she didn't like violence instead of actually doing it the "right way". Tsuna quit watching the series after having to listen to Daemon bitch about that week's episode for _hours_ explaining in far too much detail what she and the Sailor Senshi did wrong, to say nothing of how he despised Tuxedo Kamen for being so damn useless.

Now she just reserved the series as punishment for whenever she caught Daemon misbehaving.

Perhaps he should nudge the girl towards the little Rain.

* * *

Iemitsu is visiting.

Daemon takes one look at him and snarls in disgust...he still hasn't forgiven the attempted sealing. Tsuna stares at him and doesn't make the immediate mental connection between Iemitsu and the word "father"...in any variant of the word.

All she sees is an annoying mafioso who pretends to be married to her mother but is never actually _there._

Daemon is more than happy to make a Mist illusion for Iemitsu to 'play' father with while they go camping for the week.

However it is the discussion that Tsuna has with the Mist in her head that sets a certain ball rolling.

She's meditating in this little cave inside the cliff face only accessible by rock climbing (the rocks that lead 'down' are so sharp that any rope would end up shredded if it was used) and was face to face with the Mist.

"I don't get why he bothers. He produced an heir with Flames and if he really loved Mama then why is he never around more?"

"Image, most likely," said Daemon.

"If that were true, then why does he always dress like a homeless drifter when he comes around? The neighbors already talk about Mama and the fact her 'husband' ditched her once he got her knocked up since he's never around," said Tsuna scowling. "If they saw him wearing that crap they'd only say worse things. To say nothing of that scraggly beard and the fact he's always drinking."

Daemon pulls her into his lap. She cuddles into him without a second thought.

"That man is not and will never be my father," said Tsuna with dead seriousness. She hugs Daemon tightly. "I'd rather tell people you're my dad than ever admit that man is anything more than my genetic donor."

Daemon's face went through a myriad of emotions.

"What."

His voice sounds off, almost choked.

Tsuna curls into his arms, and slowly drifts to sleep.

Daemon had always been there for her and acted as a sounding board. He taught her how to protect herself and kept her safe. He was a steady rock she knew she could count on. When he told her to do something, it was because he actually _believed_ she was capable of it, or could push through self-imposed limits to do it.

In short he acted like a _father_ should act, according to all the examples she had around her.

Sure, no one else could see him because he was stuck in her head (he never did explain how or _why_ he was stuck) but she was glad he was. Otherwise she would be so very alone and those idiots would have put that seal on her, screwing her childhood over.

Daemon stared at the tiny creature in his arms. He couldn't believe the little Sky he had tried to possess had openly called him her father figure like that.

After losing Elena, any thoughts of having children died a painful death. He made a half-assed attempt to replace his beloved Elena, but it never lasted long and he always moved on once he grew bored. He could easily have descendants around the place, if he cared to look.

So hearing the word "Father" and having it associated with him alone from someone who could pass for a younger, female clone of Giotto...it made a strange warmth in his chest grow. Upon reflection, Daemon is rather startled to realize he has been acting like a 'father' for the girl he had tried to possess.

There was something about his little Sky that went beyond the usual charismatic attraction that came from their Flames. It was almost like she had a magnetic effect on those who were damaged, broken.

He looked at the little one in his arms.

And in a decision he would not regret in the least years later, when he was partially freed able able to interact _properly_ with the physical world again, he hugged Tsuna tightly to him and let her sleep.

Maybe this fathering thing wouldn't be so bad.

He couldn't _possibly_ do a worse job than that idiot who ran CEDEF.

Alaude must be turning in the Cloud ring or his grave, knowing his organization was in the hands of that buffoon.


	30. Breaking the Sky Chapter One

**Dragon Drive/KHR cross with a fem Tsuna. Still debating on pairing.**

* * *

"Hey, did you hear? Ryuu-sama is going to be playing today!"

"Seriously! Let's go get seats!"

It was the name on every player's mind, those that took the game seriously anyway.

Ryuu, the masked dragon master who could turn a weak dragon into a ferocious, unbeatable beast. It could be a common Hydra or a weak little dragon, it didn't matter.

If Ryuu got their hands on it, then by the end of a month the dragon would shoot up several levels and be better than every other player in the game.

No one knew what their original dragon was, only that it went by the name "Sora".

Ryuu's most famous catchphrase was "You can be the smallest one around... but if you're willing to put in the effort then the Sky is never the limit to what you can do!"

Only Ryuu had earned the right to be called "Dragon Master".

The thing was... no one knew exactly what Ryuu looked like, or even if that was their name. They didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl.

"It's Ryuu-sama!" squealed the girls.

The crowd began to chant the same name, over and over.

"Ryuu! Ryuu!"

The deceptively small figure turned to the crowd, dragon mask firmly in place, before giving a polite, but not condescending bow to the audience. Then they entered their designated chair.

Unlike the other strong players, who belittled or mocked the weaker ones, Ryuu was quiet but polite. In fact they often went out of their way to protect the weaker players until they gained some experience from the stronger, more snide ones.

Ryuu wasn't a fighter. They didn't take joy out of beating up the other dragons.

It was more accurate to call Ryuu a protecting dragon, one who nurture the gifts of others while maintaining their own quiet strength. A pillar that could shelter all who needed it.

As soon as they entered D-Break, Ryuu took to the sky and hovered a bit. The dragon they were on was a mysterious one, but they were perfectly comfortable there.

In the audience, everyone immediately began to look to see what sort of dragon it was.

"Oh my gods! That's Sora! Ryuu-sama's personal dragon!" squealed one of the girls.

"Dear gods, look at those insane stats! No wonder Ryuu-sama never brings it out during regular matches! He'd wipe the floor with everyone in one blast!" said another.

Cell phones went off every time Ryuu and Sora came on the screen. For the most part they didn't really interact with the other dragons...until one got too uppity and tried to make a pot shot at a very young player with a new dragon.

A single blast took that idiot out of the game, and Ryuu went to calm the young boy down. Once they were no longer upset, Ryuu went back to the skies until the game ended.

They had no need for experience points. This was more of a way to shake off the boredom with Sora.

Ryuu bowed politely again to the audience, before performing their usual vanishing act into the crowd.

* * *

"I'm home."

The owner of the dragon mask opened up the door to the still empty house.

The second the door closed, the mask was removed...revealing a girl about sixteen or seventeen with tired features. She signed with relief...it was always so nervewracking to go to D-Break as "Ryuu-sama" these days. Everyone wanted her autograph or know who was behind the mask! Even Agent L was curious, since Ryuu suddenly appeared one day out of the blue with such "amazing dragons".

No one would expect the great Dragon Master...to be a bullied teenager who originally had one of the weakest dragons.

"Ah! Almost forgot! Come out, Sora-chan!"

She took out a special box and pushed some of her resolve into it. A bright light flared from deep within, before revealing...a tiny white dragon with very small wings?

The dragon yawned, before spotting her master. It tackled the rather small teenager to the floor.

"Cut that out, Sora-chan! You know I still have to make dinner!"

It was almost impossible to believe that the great Ryuu and Sora were actually a very lonely girl and a positively tiny dragon.

Kiseki Sawada hated her life before Dragon Drive.

She had zero friends, she was always bullied, and to top it all off her imbecile father dragged her mother on a year-long cruise around the world without any warning, leaving her alone in the house.

It hadn't taken long for news of _that_ to spread, or for the bullying to get even more vicious and cruel.

Her life had become a living hell. The only reason she wasn't completely terrified of going to school was because of the fact that everyone believed her to be a boy by the name of Tsunayoshi and due to the fact that Hibari-san ran a tight ship.

He barely tolerated the fact that one of the most bullied _female_ herbivores was hiding herself as a boy. And that was only because she made him lunch every day.

Kiseki looked at the photo and was happy that Sora took it upon herself to remind her master that she wasn't all alone in the house.

She had never been alone since the day she finally earned enough points to pay for a special item that allowed the player to store dragons in the D-Break and then _manifest_ them physically in the real world once they left.

It was a one-of-a-kind item that only those who religiously stored up their points to get, and there were all sorts of conditions required for the player to be able to use it.

For once in her horrible life, she managed to meet the "requirements" in order to be able to actually use the box that brought dragons to the real world. Even if it had meant sacrificing all those experience points that could have made Sora a powerhouse that much sooner, it was completely worth it. Because for the first time she had a friend who wouldn't leave her behind.

Sure, it could only store the one dragon, but compared to others who managed to fit the requirements Sora was relatively low maintenance and was easy to disguise as a doll if she forgot to put her back.

Kiseki loved the fact her dragon was the very definition of cuddle-sized.

She crashed on her bed and got ready for yet another night of being alone save for her little dragon.

* * *

 _In Italy..._

"You still haven't located that civilian yet?!" shouted a tiny man with vibrant green hair and eyes on top of an alligator who hissed at the underlings. He wore a bright green pacifier around his neck and looked very much like a toddler.

Only an idiot would treat him like one.

"Master Verde, it's impossible! Our records indicate that this Drago regularly keeps their dragon out, but we have found no reports of a dragon appearing in civilian areas! Let alone what nation they are from! No one has any idea who this Drago is, much less what they really look like!" said the underling fearfully.

Verde (the green-haired toddler-sized man) snarled.

He had the Vindice breathing down his neck trying to find out where the leaked D-Box went since his idiot minions handed one out to a mere _civilian_. On top of that the fools who managed the 'game' were pissed as hell that some mere slip of a teenager had managed to get their hands on one of the rare boxes but had no familigia or apparent ties to Cosa Nostra to pay for it!

Those boxes were beyond expensive for a _reason_. How a civilian managed to manifest Flames strong enough to use the box and still avoid being found by the underworld was baffling.

Someone with those Flames _should_ have been noticed by now!

Unfortunately there was no way to track the box. They were designed that way so no one would realize who had them, though it usually became very obvious the second the massive dragons showed up and started wreaking havoc with their master.

A lot of "conditions" were placed on those boxes before they were handed out, set down by the Vindice.

The big one was that you couldn't just go off and show your dragon without precautions. The less who knew about them, the better. And if you were busted with it out in civilian areas then the box was confiscated without question and your ass was thrown straight into the deepest areas of Vindicare.

That generally convinced the idiot hot heads who earned one to keep a low-profile.

The thing was...those boxes were supposed to be _limited_ to people who had mafia connections only.

How the hell was he supposed to expect a civilian who managed to fit the requirements _and_ save up the ridiculous number of points needed to 'pay' for one?!

"Someone go and get me a list of all the idiots who still fit the requirements for a D-Box, but haven't earned one yet! We're going to flush this damn civilian out even if I have to kill them for it!" snarled Verde.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

"So let me get this straight. A civilian managed to get their hands on one of coveted D-Box weapons and you still haven't retrieved it yet?" said the Storm. He was one of fifty idiots chosen to flush out the infamous Dragon Master.

Verde grumbled.

"You don't need to know the details of what the requirements are or how this could have happened. All you need to do is flush out this 'dragon master' so we can get the box back. Do it and you'll earn the right to get one of your own and possibly a place among a familigia," he said annoyed. "I'm sending you all to different locations with a basic photo of what this civilian looks like. I expect results."

"Whatever. Dealing with a civilian shouldn't be that hard," scoffed the Storm.

"Since you understand Japanese, I'm setting your program to drop you in the training grounds of area eleven. I've heard rumors that Japan has a dragon master who can control any beast. Find out if it has any connection to Drago," said Verde.

 **A/N: Yes, I did just deliberately make a Code Geass reference there. XD**

Hayato Gokudera was a useless, hotheaded Storm. Though even a pawn could be used to flush out a king like Drago. And Verde wasn't above using pawns to do most of the leg work.

Hayato looked around with a pissed off gaze.

"Stupid Arcobaleno. Just because he screwed up I have to be in this dumb game even longer!"

Let it be said that Hayato was _not_ a fan of Dragon Drive. His dragon Uri was a complete pain in the ass, rarely listened to him and was more likely to throw him off then let him ride.

Except... this game was the only place he was safe from his father and half-sister. Bianchi couldn't poison him so long as he was inside, earning points and experience. His father would happily leave him in the machine for hours, even days on end since it meant he didn't have to look at his son.

In short D-Break was the only viable escape he had from his life, no matter how much Uri pissed him off.

Hayato looked down and saw a girl with caramel colored hair riding a dragon...with a smaller one sitting next to her with rather pathetic wings. It wasn't unheard of to see someone controlling two or more dragons, but it wasn't seen often either.

And he knew from the limited information they had that Drago could control multiple dragons, though his primary was called "Ciel".

Well, who better to ask than a local about Drago?

"Hey you! Girlie!" shouted Hayato in accented Japanese.

The girl turned, revealing startled amber-eyes. She looked positively freaked out he had seen her.

The fact she had her dragon bolt the second he called out pissed him off.

"Go after her Uri! Don't let her escape!"

Needless to say he was quite startled when his dragon actually _listened_ to him for once.

Uri flew faster than Hayato could remember him going, before forcibly planting himself before the girl.

"Hie! What do you want?" she said startled.

Hayato couldn't help it, but the first impression he had of this girl was a frightened bunny. He mentally shook that off, but it stuck.

"Look, do you know any dragon masters around here by the name Drago?"

She blinked.

"What."

"I'm looking for a dragon master named Drago, or at least his dragon Ciel. Do you know where I could find them?"

She stared at him.

"The only dragon master in Japan is Ryuu and his primary partner Sora. I've never even heard of Drago or Ciel," she replied.

Hayato was irritated.

"Well where can I find this Ryuu?"

"Ryuu-sama makes sporadic appearances in the D-Zone, though they tend to show up when the rookie players show up during the summer. They're more of a protector than a fighter though. It's rare for them to get involved in the actual fighting unless it's to end one."

"You said they. Is it a team then?" asked Hayato.

She shook her head.

"No one knows what gender Ryuu-sama is, so general consensus is to use gender neutral titles. But they don't seem to care if you refer to them as a boy. He also rarely uses his primary dragon in a fight."

"Can this Ryuu-sama control a lot of dragons?"

"It's said that Ryuu-sama takes the dragon cards of those who don't want to play anymore, or who want to try for a 'better' dragon and turns them into powerhouses. They are well known for declaring that the Sky can be more than just the limit if someone puts in the effort to surpass it."

Hayato nodded grudgingly...and wondered if this Ryuu-sama could tell him how to get his damn dragon to actually LISTEN to him more often. He was being unusually calm today.

"Thanks," said Hayato. "What's your name?"

"Kiseki. This is Kakashi and Sora-chan," said the girl, holding up what looked like a baby dragon.

"Named after Ryuu's dragon then?"

"Well, Chibisuke sounded too much like a boy's name and Sora-chan is a girl," she replied sheepishly. "Ah. What's your name?"

"Gokudera Hayato. This pain in my ass is Uri."

"Nice to meet you, Gokudera-san, Uri," she said cheerfully.

"Whoa! What are you doing, you stupid dragon?!" yelped Hayato when Uri went to properly greet Kiseki. She giggled when he licked her face. And he was positively _purring_ when she scratched his horns. The leopard-like dragon _never_ purred around Hayato.

"Sorry about that. I have a weird effect around dragons. They seem to treat me like I'm some human-shaped catnip to them or something."

"Wish I knew how you did it. He never listens to me," said Hayato grumpily.

She tilted her head.

"But he does listen. You're the one who has trouble paying attention to what he's saying," she said without thinking.

"What."

He didn't care if he sounded pissed or dangerous, he was ticked she dared to say something like that.

"Your pride gets in the way. Maybe if you quit treating your dragon like an extension of whatever it is you're running from, he'd listen to you more," she said without flinching at the tone. "And if you really hated him so much, you would have gotten rid of his card. He's still worried you might eventually give up on him like you've given up on your own situation."

Hayato stared at her.

"You're weird."

She winced at the comment.

"I've been called worse. Much worse," she admitted.

Hayato was curious why that statement made him want to rip whoever had made a 'worse' comment to the little dragon tamer into tiny shreds before sending Uri after them. It wasn't like he knew the girl, who was so obviously a civilian it wasn't even funny.


	31. Hexen Dragon Chapter One

It was oddly liberating, being a paid assassin. It certainly wasn't the career choice she would have considered growing up.

After the war though... it felt like she was coming home. Too many instincts more or less engraved in her memory and no one really commented on the fact she was a restless sleeper.

She was a 'mook', someone who had yet to earn the right to a proper codename. So long as she did her job and kept her mouth shut, no one would look twice at her. She wondered how the Officers would feel if they ever knew a witch had literally walked right into their group, written herself on the payroll and was employed as a member of the Lightning division.

"Get geared up. We have an assignment," said Darkholm.

She honestly had no idea where the hell the Varia came up with codenames. Some of them were positively ridiculous. On the plus side, she was picking up a lot of languages and was able to subtly cheat using snakes to learn more. Who knew parseltongue was so useful when it came to learning languages?

A few days of speaking with a snake from a random country and she suddenly knew whatever human dialect the snake spent the most time around. She couldn't _speak_ it without a lot of practice, but her mind was starting to naturally filter all the many, many languages spoken around her to "snake" before it switched automatically to English.

Brier Rose, aka Rosethorn as she was known in England, was already prepared for the assignment...unlike the other "Lightning" mooks she never really unpacked, just restocked. Ironically her prompted ability to be present and prepared _on time_ without any whining made her an almost favorite of the Lightning Officer.

The man was a headache, but at least he didn't hate her personally. He was absurdly 'devoted' to the Boss, a man she had only seen in passing.

Boss had the most beautiful deep blood red eyes she had ever seen, and wore feathers as a sort of strange hair accessory, along with a long coon tail. There was a sort of angry, powerful aura about him that reminded her strongly of a territorial dragon about to turn you into charcoal if you pissed him off.

Unlike Riddle, his red eyes didn't make her feel the least bit afraid.

Seeing the eight year old with the genuine crown on his head, she fought the urge to frown. She didn't doubt that the boy was competent... anyone who had the badge of an officer was already blooded.

"Voi! Is everyone here yet?" demanded the loud Rain. Squalo Superbi was usually the one giving out assignments since the Boss was apparently too lazy to do so himself.

Rosethorn adapted the usual blank expression that had become standard when it came to being around the older, more experienced assassins.

Becoming invisible without the use of her cloak was a specialty of hers. Squalo's eyes passed right over her after he registered her patch declaring her a Lightning. From what she could tell of her fellow Lightnings, there seemed to be some sort of really odd bias that all Lightnings would be Stupid to Gryffindor levels and take the hits first, drawing any enemy fire to themselves rather than hit their comrades.

Like a lightning rod for damage, which she found to be very ridiculous, but knew better than to ask why everyone seemed to think a "Lightning" should be loud, boisterous and try to attract all the attention in the room.

Actually she found a lot of weird quirks in the Varia.

Everyone seemed to think Mists were highly untrustworthy simply for existing, Clouds were antisocial, Suns were heavy physical hitters on top of being healers and Storms were hot-headed morons.

Which sounded about as stupid as classifying everyone by what House they were sorted in. Like you couldn't be hardworking _and_ cunning, or intelligent and courageous to the point you'd jump in without a plan first.

Rosethorn accepted the assignment and noted with some annoyance that she was the only Lightning in the group.

Which meant everyone expected her to be "brave to the point of Gryffindor-level Stupidity". Terrific.

"Voi! Lightning, what's your name?" demanded Squalo.

"I haven't been assigned one yet, _sir_ ," she said with a bland expression.

Squalo looked irritated by that.

"Nickname?"

"Hex, sir," she replied dutifully. Asking for the _real_ name of someone in the Varia was way too personal. There was a damn good reason everyone went by codenames.

Nicknames were another matter.

"Hex, then. You're in charge of the Prince brat until the mission is over," said Squalo.

"Ushishishi... you better not slow me down peasant," snickered the Storm officer.

Rosethorn rolled her eyes. Sexist pig... just because she was a female didn't mean she automatically knew how to deal with kids!

" _And you had better not annoy me too much to the point I tan your sorry hide, your_ Highness _,"_ she shot back in Carpathian. Upon learning there was a royal from one of the more isolated magical kingdoms in the Varia, she had looked up which family had that particular crest and promptly bought the language lozenge to learn the native tongue of the area.

If only to keep on the good side of the Prince. Besides, the poor kid likely hadn't heard his native tongue in a long time, having run away so young. She was still trying to get her hands on cookbooks from the area.

There had to be a damn good reason for a _prince_ to run so far from home and end up in a group of bloodthirsty assassins who would eat him alive if he gave an inch.

The kid went almost ramrod straight from pure shock. There was a hint of blood red eyes peering from under his bangs as he stared at her with open interest.

"Ushishishi!"

* * *

Rosethorn stayed close enough to be considered back-up, but allowed the Storm Officer (who's name was Belphegor, apparently) to do his thing without making it look like she considered him anything less than actual Quality just because of his age.

Seeing the surprised and curious look on his face when she rolled her eyes and removed as much blood as possible with a quick wandless spell, she pretended to act as his minder and dragged him to the first gelato shop she could find.

"Shishishi... what's this for peasant?" he asked, amused.

"Because everyone loves ice cream, and you deserve a treat for being able to handle that job on your own without needing me to cover for you," said Rosethorn. She had noticed he liked berries and chocolate, and ordered a chocolate with strawberry for him.

Belphegor's expression was unidentifiable, but he accepted the treat without a word.

"You're a strange peasant."

"I've been called worse," said Rosethorn. She looked at her phone and noticed a call for back-up...apparently the other team had somehow stumbled into trouble and needed help. "Do you want to finish your cone first, or do you want to rescue grown men from a mess they created because of their incompetence? Bear in mind I will blame you for why we took so long."

Belphegor blinked at that.

"You're a Lightning."

"I may be part of the Lightning Squad, but if they need a half-trained 'mook' and a boy not even _nine_ to save their sorry asses, then they deserve whatever they get. If they survive until we get there, then good for them. If anyone asks you can claim we had to take the long route to avoid cops," said Rosethorn without remorse.

Belphegor snickered even more at that.

"I like you, peasant," announced Belphegor. He finished his ice cream and then put on the helmet Rosethorn had acquired for him. She was his ride and back-up, after all. Besides she bought him gelato, spoke his native language (her accent was terrible, but he could forgive that), and didn't treat him like a child that needed to be coddled all the time.

Most of the mooks stuck acting as his ride tended to only see his age or be too terrified to be of any real use.

They got there in time to rescue the other group, though Rosethorn was rather pleased when Belphegor skewered the leader of those idiots for interrupting his "fun". Which basically implied that Belphegor had been "playing" with his target and didn't appreciate having to cut his game short to rescue a bunch of idiots.

On the plus side, thanks to a recommendation from the Prince she finally had a proper codename. It was unoriginal, but at least it was a name.

Hexen. German for "witch".

Oh well... at least the Storm officer seemed to be genuinely fond of her after that mission. Enough so that he openly sought her out when bored and proceeded to help with what he called "a truly terrible accent" when it came to his native language. Belphegor apparently enjoyed being the "teacher" to someone at least ten years older than him who wouldn't take it personally and actually treated him with the appropriate respect for royalty without being condescending about it.

* * *

Hexen was stuck acting as the unofficial secretary of the Boss due to the fact she was behind on her paperwork from a flu. Lussuria, the Sun Officer had been very sympathetic about it... especially since the flu just _happened_ to hit at the worst time of the month for her. So in an effort to repay the woman... it didn't matter what people said, she could tell "Sorella" truly was a woman in soul, if not heart despite being unlucky enough to be born "male"... she had offered to deliver the Sun Division's paperwork for the next week.

Levi didn't care what she did so long as she stayed out of the way of his rather disturbing stalker tendencies towards the Boss and didn't make herself _noteworthy_ in a way that might make her a potential rival for Lightning Officer.

There was a reason why she had infiltrated the Lightning Division. Besides the fact that the Officer was one of the most lax so long as you didn't draw too much attention, it also had a much larger number of people in it compared to the Clouds.

Ottabio might make her skin crawl, but he would have noticed an extra Cloud in his division. Levi had overlooked the fact there was one more than there should have been because she did her job without complaining and was actually efficient at it. No one looked at Lightnings unless they needed a meat shield. Besides, it was behavior she was already conditioned to which made her ability to hide in the division all too easy for her to pull off.

That no one had discovered the fact she had basically infiltrated the place and made herself at home said quite a bit. If she wasn't leery of mind readers (which was only natural, considering the head of the Mist division was called "Mammon _Esper_ " and had genuine psychic abilities if rumor was to be believed) she would have found the fact that a group of elite assassins had missed a _civilian_ sneaking into their ranks _hilarious_.

"Voi! I wouldn't go in there," said Squalo with a pinched expression on his face.

"Why?"

"Vongola Nono is in there with his Storm. Boss is _always_ in a foul mood when he deigns to show up."

"Then he could use a distraction who doesn't mind being in the line of fire to begin with," said Hexen.

Squalo eyed her oddly for a moment.

"Voi. Wait here a minute... if you're going to take in paperwork anyway then you can drop mine off as well," said Squalo.

He came back with some papers, and pointed out the red ones.

"These get signed first... I need them _today_ , not a week from now."

"Got it. Into the breech, I guess," said Hexen.

Within seconds she understood _why_ the Boss didn't like it whenever this "Nono" visited. He had the same aura as Dumbledore, except he didn't feel like he was too chickenshit to actually _kill_ someone.

In other words a manipulative old bastard who wouldn't hesitate to ruin a child's life to achieve his own goals and then pretended he had some lofty reason for doing it.

The other man felt like the stuffy old bloods back home. The kind who were stubborn as hell and a total bitch and a half to work with because they were stuck on a "This is how we've always done it and if you don't like it, then tough shit because I'm not budging" mentality.

She couldn't blame the boss in the _least_ if this was what he had to deal with. He'd probably be more than happy with a distraction from this sort of bullshit.

She walked right past the old bastard (as she was already mentally calling him) without even introducing herself.

"Squalo and Lussuria's paperwork, Boss. Squalo said he needed the ones in red done _today_ , not a week from now," she said, interrupting the old bastard and his asshole sycophant without any remorse or hesitation. All while looking Boss right in the eye without backing down or acknowledging the sheer level of pissed off intent in the room.

Boss looked darkly amused at her stunt, especially when she gave him her full and undivided attention while blatantly ignoring the other two in the room as inconsequential of her notice.

She had no idea who the old bastard or his sycophant was, nor did she honestly _care_. She only considered _four_ people in the castle to be worth listening to, regardless of how stupid she felt the order.

In order they were "Levi A Than", Lussuria, Squalo and the Boss himself. The first because he was her officer, the second because she was in charge of everyone's health (but was thankfully less cloying than Madam Pomphrey had ever been... Luss accepted it when she said she was "fine" enough to go back on mission duty and only brought out the bed straps if it was clear that someone was being unusually stubborn about their own health to the point of being stupid), Squalo because he was generally the one to dole out mission assignments for the other officers to trickle down to the rank and file, and Boss because he was the one In Charge of the Varia and no one said no to him.

In short these two were positively inconsequential in the face of Boss' bad mood and the ever-pressing need to get paperwork done on time.

The old bastard looked at her with a thoughtful gaze she _really_ didn't like.

"What's your name miss?" he asked politely, trying for "kindly".

She turned to face him with an odd look on her face (at least as much as you could see with half her features obscured by her hair) which she knew the Boss had definitely noticed.

"Are you going senile, _sir_?" she inquired sweetly. "Everyone knows there are no women in the Varia. To assume otherwise is Stupid on a level only _civilians_ every successfully manage with any consistency."

Boss was clearly trying desperately not to laugh his ass off at the look on the sycophant's face at that comment, if the choking sounds from behind her were any indication.

"That's an unhealthy shade of red. Are you suffering from an aneurysm?" she inquired of the sycophant with mock concern, which only made the amusement she could feel from the boss worse.

Hearing the sputters of indignation from the other gentleman, she went back to ignoring them both.

Seeing the boss was in no state to look at them, the two went to leave.

However before the old bastard moved more than a few steps away from his chair, Hexen felt something press against her which killed any and all amusement from the Boss in an instant.

Hexen didn't even realize she was reacting on instinct. One second she was next to the Boss...the next moment she had sent the old bastard flying through the door with a strong right hook that coincidentally had the nice side effect of giving him a nasty broken jaw.

Registering the threat nearby, she quickly sent the sycophant after him before he had a chance to react with any real success.

Dead silence. She could recognize the look of shocked amusement coming from Squalo as well as the dark interest on the Boss. But right now it was taking everything she had not to drop into a nasty flashback of the last time she had felt that sensation around Albus Dumbledore, back when he was still trying to mold her into his little protege without any consideration for her own feelings or potential plans.

Boss was definitely looking at her with actual interest in his eyes. He had been amused before, but that knee-jerk reaction had put her firmly on his radar as someone who might be worthy of his notice.

"What's your name, trash?"

"Hexen, Lightning Division twelfth squad," she replied.

Boss grunted, and waved his hand off. She made herself scarce so that the two who had been so unceremoniously thrown out of the room wouldn't be able to get a proper look at her... the Boss kept the rooms a bit dark, and half her face was obscured by her black hair.

She was so getting drunk tonight.


	32. Chaos Unchained Chapter One

_For how long had he been sleeping?_

 _Enough to see the ending of the world and the rebirth of one, at any rate._

 _Everything and everyone he knew, gone._

 _All the sins, the mistakes, the joys, the triumphs...washed away by the herald of the WEAPON Omega, only to be brought back as the Lifestream kickstarted an entirely new cycle._

 _An endless cycle of Death and Rebirth, all neatly rolled into one._

 _Except something was different this time, his mind distantly noted._

 _There was something wrapped around the Lifestream. Not dangerous, but unusual. It almost seemed to be_ shielding _it, though how chains could pull that off was baffling._

 _But there was something wrong with these chains. They had been made with the best of intentions but something had twisted them, miring them in senseless tragedy and needless death. Another, darker chain lead away from the one with the most links and seemed to be_ feeding _off the Lifestream. Not enough to cause damage, but certainly enough that he noticed it right away._

 _Chaos slept, until something could kick start it's vessel into waking. It would have to be someone connected to the mysterious chains, and maybe then it could get some proper answers._

* * *

Small feet tripped over long, long legs that were covered in vines.

"Oof!"

The small child teared up, before wiping them away. They had gotten worse owies playing with the other children.

Turning around, small brown eyes looked to find... a man?

The odd man was laying on the ground covered in old plants. He wore a lot of red and black, and there was something about him that would have screamed "vampire" to someone much older. He had pale skin, long messy black hair and a strange thing on his right arm. It almost looked shiny and yellow. He had thick boots on his feet that were really weird at the bottom.

The little child was full of curiosity. Strangely, they were unafraid at finding an adult here... something about him caused their blood to sing with joy and happiness, like they were meant to find him and that he wouldn't cause harm. If anything he was rather protective, though how they knew that they couldn't say.

Fearless, the little one shook the man's leg closest to them.

"Hey mister, wake up!"

It took a good minute of shaking, but slowly the man began to stir. Deep red eyes blearily opened...until it settled on the little one.

"Where... am I?"

The child crinkled their nose.

"Mister, you talk funny."

The man blinked and switched to something close to the language the little one was speaking.

" _Where am I little one?"_

Eyes brightened as it seemed the little child understood most of that.

"Namimori, mister! Did you fall and hit your head? Is that why you were sleeping on the ground under all these plants?"

He shook his head, and slowly started to get up.

"What happened to your hand mister? Did you hurt it?"

He gently lifted his right, clawed hand and ruffled the little one's hair.

"I am fine, little one."

The child pouted at him.

"I'm not 'little one'! I'm Kiseki!" the child said, stamping their foot on the ground.

"Kiseki."

"Mama said that I'm her little miracle since it was really, really hard to have me," said Kiseki.

He thought that one over and looked closer at the child. Upon proper inspection he realized the little one was a girl, which made the name 'Miracle' somewhat appropriate.

"I... don't remember who I am."

That was partially a lie. He remembered who he was called before, but he still needed to get his bearings.

The child frowned at him, almost like she could sense he wasn't being entirely truthful.

"Nii-san?" she said cutely.

"Nii-san?" he repeated amused.

"Nii-san," said Kiseki firmly.

Someone called out from close by. Kiseki brightened, as she clearly recognized the voice.

"Mama's calling me. I better go."

He ruffled her hair gentle, causing her to giggle. She scampered off towards the outside, where she found her mother from what he could hear.

The man slowly got out of the plants, before mentally asking _'Chaos, what just happened?'_

 _You found a baby Cetra, or something close enough to it that it makes no difference. Keep an eye on her... she will become important later and I have the feeling that things aren't that different than last time._

Something in the way Chaos said that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Like there were things almost as bad as that thrice-cursed Hojo that were all too happy to snatch that innocent, bright little girl up and hurt her.

The man once known as Vincent Valentine walked away from where he had been found by Kiseki. He needed information and Chaos was unpredictable at best with it came to giving clear, concise answers.

Oddly enough it seemed that wherever he was happened to be _very_ close to Wutai for some reason. It only took him a few hours to figure out the subtle differences thanks to an "English to Japanese" dictionary he stole. The language was almost identical, at least enough that he could understand what people were saying, and the writing was close enough that he could make a general guess.

Either that or Chaos was being unusually "nice" to him for some reason.

What he found was both disheartening and something of a morbid relief.

There was absolutely _nothing_ familiar hear, and from what little he had gathered from a surprisingly helpful Chaos, everything had been quite literally wiped clean.

Nothing of what he knew remained. Nothing save the Lifestream anyway.

Listless, and without any idea of what to do now that he had been awakened after who knew how long, he somehow found himself near a rather quaint house among many others.

His ears quickly picked up the voice of the small child who had inadvertently woken him.

He settled in somewhere out of sight, but still within earshot.

And that's when he heard, or more appropriately _felt_ it.

Kiseki was singing along with some random children's show...and the harmonics somehow slipped into something that started to _resonate_ with not just Chaos, but the Lifestream itself. She didn't even realize she was doing it!

He sat up with shock.

 _It would seem that our need to watch the little one is even greater than I was lead to believe. If anyone were to get their hands on her or figure out how to use her ability..._

Vincent didn't need to guess. If Hojo were still around he'd have stopped at nothing to get his hands on her and exploit her gift. And while everything he found said that the knowledge of the Lifestream and Mako had been completely lost, there were always going to be humans more than willing to push the boundaries purely to find out whatever they could...even if it was a subject that should have remained dead and buried, or better yet destroyed like JENOVA.

* * *

Nana was a kind woman, but she was not as oblivious as her husband would like. She knew he was part of something that wasn't exactly safe, and she hated the fact he was always lying to her.

She was also aware her daughter's new "friend" wasn't exactly normal, let alone her own age. In fact he appeared closer to her own age, but something told her he was far older than that.

Dropping Kiseki off to school for a few hours, Nana tracked this "man in red" down. They needed to have a long overdue chat about his intentions.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, the man wasn't that hard to find. If anything _he_ startled _her_ by appearing without warning behind her.

Nana nearly had a heart attack.

Once she got over her shock, she had a proper look at the man.

"What are you intentions for my daughter?" she asked bluntly.

"Protection," he replied without any hesitation at all.

"Protection from what?" she asked baffled.

"For starters, those who would use her against your husband. He's not entirely honest about what his job is and from what I've seen he hasn't even bothered to put any actual defenses around you or her, thinking that anonymity would be the only thing needed to keep you safe. I've had to dispose of _three_ idiots who were very informative about one 'Iemitsu Sawada' and the group he belongs with in the past two months since your daughter caught my notice," he replied.

Nana wanted to say he was lying. Except she _knew_ he wasn't. Something had always seemed off about her husband and she didn't like how he was always cagey about his job or why he couldn't stay at home for very long.

"There's also the fact your daughter has a very rare gift...one that if the wrong people were alerted to it, they would stop at nothing to claim her or exploit it," said the man rather bluntly. "Surely you've noticed the same thing I did."

Nana would never admit that she _did_ notice the odd things that sometimes happened around her daughter. Finding out that someone knew what it actually was felt like a relief. Especially since from what she could tell the man was entirely honest about wanting to protect her little miracle.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. Just trust in the fact I have absolutely no intention of harming your child and will take it very badly if someone tries," he replied.

Nana soon learned he wasn't joking in the least about people after her husband, even if it meant going through his wife and daughter. Seeing the man calmly capture the assassin (there was no mistaking his intentions when he had a gun to her head and made it perfectly clear why he was there) and keep it out of view of Kiseki had more or less cemented that he could be trusted in her mind.

Mostly because he admitted that she had no valid reason to trust him at all, save for his word.

Nana looked the man in the eye after the assassin was dealt with (she didn't ask and was glad he made sure her daughter saw nothing) and said "Tell me everything. Especially why I should trust you with my daughter's safety."

"My name is...was... Vincent Valentine. A long time ago I was part of an elite group of people with unique skill sets. However that training has a habit of removing one's moral compass, to say the least. So we're _encouraged_ to find someone to act as that moral compass," said Vincent.

Nana didn't really like the sound of that at all.

"Besides... she's the only one in this town who wasn't afraid of me in the least the first time she saw me," said Vincent. "I believe I am the equivalent of a 'ronin', if it helps."

"It does, actually."

Ronin, or masterless Samurai, often bent the rules, but in general they still had a code of honor. And once they found a worthy "master" they tended to be _very_ loyal and highly protective of them. However that also went hand in hand with not questioning orders, regardless of what they were.

From what she could tell of "Vincent", he was a mixture of shinobi and ronin. And he was utterly protective of her child.

"You're not going to influence her... are you?"

"Outside of acting as a general father figure since your husband is completely incompetent and doesn't seem interested and teaching her how to protect herself in a fight, no," said Vincent blandly.

She could live with that.

Which was why, shortly before her daughter was about to turn five, she found herself with an almost permanent house guest. Kiseki was beyond thrilled to have her "big brother" close by, especially since Vincent doted on her like a older brother or a father would.

It only took two weeks for her to drop her guard entirely around Vincent and her daughter. Even an ordinary woman like herself could see the man had zero intentions of ever harming her little miracle.

Even if it was slightly odd having a grown man in the house.

Nana was not ashamed of the minor rumor she created to explain Vincent's presence in the house. Officially he was her second cousin who had gotten kicked out by a very abusive girlfriend and Nana was the only one who had offered to let him stay and get back up on his feet. Of course Vincent refused to do so on charity, so he often acted as babysitter and was working part time somewhere outside the city to help pay for living expenses.

Vincent, after the first nosy housewife, made a point to avoid the neighbors unless absolutely necessary. The broken social skills he had hinted at were very obvious, to the amusement of Nana. Just as it was beyond obvious Vincent had great difficulty (and by that Nana meant almost nonexistent) telling Kiseki _"No_ ".

It was quite entertaining, to see the big, bad adult man having his hair braided by the almost five-year-old little girl and _letting_ her do it without complain. Nana took pictures.

Everything had found a new normal, at least until Iemitsu came home with a few extras.

Vincent made himself scarce, as he did not want to alert the man of his presence in the home. Ever.

Something about the husband and the man that convinced Kiseki to call him 'grandpa' felt _wrong_ to his senses, and the man next to the old one was the same to a much lesser degree.

* * *

 _Vincent POV_

Kiseki pretty much ignored Iemitsu, much to his open dismay. It amused the older man, though she avoided him as well. For a while, the entire visit seemed benign. Innocent.

Except Vincent was a former Turk and far better at hiding his presence than the fools were at noticing him. That and their level of technology was ridiculously behind what he was already used to.

He had remastered his ability to hack within hours, once he familiarized himself with the level of technology...he had kept himself up-to-date with his hacking right up until Chaos took over completely and gave the planet a permanent clean slate to start fresh.

With that went the advances in technology, which he now found quaint.

In short he had the phones of the three men hacked within the first night and was less than amused with what he found.

Mafia. Of course Nana's idiotic husband would be part of the organized crime, rather than the deep cover operative he had hoped for... if only for Nana's sake.

From the looks of things Iemitsu only cared for his job, rather than his family, but stayed married to his wife purely for appearances sake and so his line would continue. He had likely done it to shut someone up, or because he had a crisis of mortality and feared for his bloodline.

The older man though... Vincent had him pegged as the Don of whatever family Iemitsu belonged to.

However Dons wouldn't just travel halfway across the world to visit the family of an ordinary subordinate. Considering the fact both the Don and the idiot (as Vincent had begun calling Iemitsu in his head) had the same broken connection to the Lifestream that were vaguely similar in feel, Vincent suspected Iemitsu was part of the Don's bloodline. Most likely an important cousin or connected to a past leader of the family.

Vincent did _not_ like Iemitsu. Period. It had nothing to do with the fact he was never around. It had little to do with the fact he had been lying to his wife and didn't even have the brains to put in actual protection around his civilian family.

It had _everything_ to do with the fact he was a narcissistic moron who had an 'inverted' feel to Vincent's senses when it came to his ability to tap into the Lifestream...which explained quite a bit about why Kiseki could do it, if it was inherited... one who had shown absolutely _no_ regard to the safety or health of his daughter. He had been playing 'catch' with her, tossing her into the air for thirty minutes and had, at several points, almost forgotten to catch her in time.

Kiseki didn't mind being up high...she often begged rides on Vincent's shoulders and he was ridiculously tall...but he could see clear as day that she _hated_ being tossed up in the air with no real certainty of being caught by the one doing it. After the first time she had lost any trust in her 'father' to actual catch her... the last time he tossed her up high enough she had clung to the nearest branch she could reach and managed to swing herself up into the tree.

She also refused to come down until Nana came and rescued her. That was pretty telling in Vincent's eyes that any trust the girl had in her genetic donor, he had lost quite a bit of it.

Then came the incident that forced Vincent to reveal himself. Nana was out buying groceries, thinking nothing would happen since her husband was watching their child. Despite his lying she still trusted him to protect their daughter.

Kiseki was playing with her ball and it got caught up in the tree when she kicked it too hard. Being a natural climber (Vincent showed her how, but made her promise not to do it without him or Nana there to supervise) she managed to make it up to the tree branch where the ball was stuck. Unfortunately the branch in question wasn't strong enough to sustain a five-year-old child, even one as small and light as she was. With the first crack, Kiseki slipped from the branch...and promptly erupted with orange fire from her hands.

It caught her fall, leaving her with little more than a bruise or two and a very tame case of shock which would pass with a nap.

But the reaction of the adults was very telling.

Iemitsu practically exploded over it, and while Vincent couldn't speak whatever language he was using (he had gotten lucky that this 'Japanese' was very, very similar enough to Wutain that he had been able to fake it, right down to having a similar culture and belief structure), he did know that the Lifestream was positively screaming at Vincent to get the girl far, far away from the old man who seemed resigned.

He only needed to see a similar, if much weaker orange fire on the man's hand with the ring that gave him a chill, before he reacted.

He knew instinctively letting the man touch Kiseki with that fire would only cause irreparable damage that would have consequences for the rest of her life. Chaos was practically frothing at the mouth to rip the adults inside to shreds for merely bringing that fire anywhere near his little one.

(Vincent was both amused and relieved that Chaos was equally possessive over the little girl. Kiseki hadn't even batted an eye upon meeting him.)

Their reaction upon seeing Chaos was rather predictable. Vincent found it very amusing that mafioso had become so complacent that they hadn't even thought to keep their guns on them and cheap knives were of little use against him.

Kiseki had zero reservations. Her entire body was screaming to get away from that orange fire and she trusted Vincent, her "big brother" implicitly.

She was safely shielded by Chaos even as the other men tried to kill it.

Vincent left the house with Kiseki firmly in his arms, and found Nana within minutes.

"What happened? I thought you were hiding until darling left?"

"That man is a fool. He did nothing to stop Kiseki from climbing the tree or even bothered to notice that the branch she was on was too weak to sustain her weight when she tried to get her ball from it. And when her gift physically manifested they tried to do something to it. I have no doubts they were going to harm her," said Vincent bluntly. He was pissed. "Never mind the fact the people he brought with him are organized crime."

"What?!"

Nana believed Vincent, if for no other reason than the fact he would never have dared to remove her daughter from the house unless something had gone very, very wrong. She knew he had been avoiding it ever since Iemitsu had shown up with his extra, if only to avoid awkward questions.

"I hacked their phones. Your _husband_ is part of the mafia. More than that, the man who's with him is the leader of whatever family he's with. Which explains why I've had to deal with assassins that aren't native," said Vincent crossly. "You should return to the house and pretend you didn't see us. I'll bring her back when it's safe to do so."

It looks like Nana would have to put her acting skills to the test. She would do it, if for no other reason than her soon to be _ex-_ husband had lied to her and put her daughter in danger. She was not blind to the fact Iemitsu paid _her_ more attention than their own child, or the fact Kiseki had been afraid of him after the tree incident.


	33. The Hidden Princess Chapter One

The lone female of the Vindice looked at the tiny little thing shivering in the cold, their wrists and ankles rubbed raw by the too tight handcuffs, and in clothes entirely unsuited for the area they were in. There was a distinct lack of food or water in the 'house', and they were arresting all the adults that could drive.

The little thing was so fragile, like a little kitten shoved in a box in the cold winter, that it was impossible to completely put it out of mind.

So much so that she discreetly puts the little one under her cloak and spirited her to Vindicare. She was sure Bermuda would understand that she was merely keeping an eye on the little one until whichever familigia she had been stolen from came for her.

Except no one does. Not for over a month and a half, and by that time the trail is so long cold that it has died completely.

She takes the little kitten to her boss. She couldn't keep her secret for much longer, and Jager had only gone along with it until her familigia came for her.

It was hard to condemn a true innocent to a needless death from inaction, which was why he had kept his silence. It wasn't like the little girl could have possibly warranted such a lonely fate to die from cold, hunger or lack of water.

"What?" demanded Bermuda. He was buried in paperwork, again. Seriously, how exactly did he end up having to do this much paperwork just to run a damn prison?

At least his subordinates were relatively _tame_ in comparison to the mafioso idiots... he didn't have to fill out nearly as many damage expense claims or repair bills.

They forced the prisoners to do it for a reduced sentence.

Then Bermuda looked up from the papers to see... a child?

"...Explain. Now."

She squirmed, before telling him what happened. It was a simple job...they went in, arrested the idiots causing a mess and breaking Omerta, and came back.

Except the location was in such a rural area in the middle of Russia and it was winter. There was no way a little one this young would know how to operate a car, much less fend for themselves without food or a proper water source. And expecting a child under seven to know how to operate a gun was just _asking_ for trouble.

So she had brought it with them, leaving a contact number fully intending to drop the little one off with their familigia once they tracked her down.

But they didn't. Not for a full month and by that time she had stopped checking the house entirely...the girl would have been dead long before help arrived if she hadn't brought with them.

Bermuda stared at the lone female of his group. Then at the child who didn't seem the _least_ bit afraid of him or the woman holding her hand.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked...

"Does she have a name at least?"

The woman made a face.

"Whoever her parents are, they are idiots. What sane person gives a girl a name like 'tuna'?" she replied.

"Which familigia is she with?"

"I don't think she has one, or if she did they cast her out. She has a Sky Flame seal on her and I think hers were active when it was applied."

Bermuda blinked.

"How old is she?"

"At least six and a half, and the seal looks to be at least a year old."

Active flames in a five year old. No one bothering to look for her after she was clearly kidnapped and almost left to die in the middle of Russia during winter. Not a single call asking about a little girl fitting her description in over a month.

Bermuda sighed.

He could safely say his subordinate was correct in that the girl was most likely abandoned by her familigia, if she had one.

"We can't keep her. This is a prison."

"She doesn't seem to mind us. I'm almost certain I saw her hugging Jager yesterday," she replied. "And it's not like we don't have the resources to keep her here, so long as she doesn't visit the prisoners."

Bermuda eyed the massive piles on his desk.

"I'll streamline all your paperwork so you only have to deal with the absolute necessities that have to be run by you, rather than the damage claims and budgeting," she offered.

Sold.

"You can keep her, but only as long as she doesn't interfere with what we do. And you're on your own when it comes to schooling her," he said flatly.

She actually squealed, before hugging the little one to her chest.

"Hear that, little flame? You're staying with us!"

The little girl squeaked, but to Bermuda's open disbelief she snuggled into the woman's hold without a second thought.

What the hell.

Bermuda thought he had seen everything.

Apparently he was wrong. Seeing his subordinates wrapped around the tiny fingers of the little girl that his new secretary had rescued from a pointless death was rather surreal...and he wasn't the only one having a mental break down seeing them with the tiny thing cheerfully hugging them like they were still _human_. Every time they dragged a new prisoner past the little girl openly playing with the Vindice, even when they weren't bandaged up, they would have a "WTF" look on their faces.

* * *

It had only been _two months_ since the little Principessa had been brought to his attention, and she had EVERY ONEof his men wrapped around her little fingers.

Then came the day even he fell victim to the strange charm of the little principessa.

After yet another hellish day of paperwork, dealing with idiot prisoners who got far too amped up and tried to break out again, and having to deal with a whiny mafioso wanting one of their idiots out, Bermuda openly twitched when he saw the _full_ desk waiting for him.

It was going to take him HOURS to clean that nightmare off.

So it took him several seconds to register that he was being hugged.

Considering the warmth and tiny (but not Arcobaleno-sized) arms around him, there could really only be one culprit.

"Little Principessa, what do you think you're doing?"

" _Hugging you. Mama always gave me hugs when I had a bad day,"_ she said in Japanese.

Bermuda raised an eyebrow.

Considering most mafioso lived in Italy or Europe, he would have expected her to speak in Italian or at the very least English. _Not_ Japanese.

Bermuda found himself being carried to the kitchen where the little one managed to make him a cup of coffee (mostly by pouring some from the espresso maker into a cup, and carefully carrying it to where she sat him down) and picked up some apple juice from the fridge for herself.

Then she sat him down in her lap on the stool, and for some strange reason he felt some of the tension in his body relax.

Not all of it, of course, but as he sat there just relaxing while sipping the glorious cup of caffeine, he felt a lot less cranky and ready to kill something.

He was starting to see why his subordinates had become so attached to the little one, even when they really should be finding out which familigia she was with.

Though if she spoke Japanese that well, then he had a sneaking suspicion who's Family she belonged to.

Bermuda didn't even register when he fell asleep, only that he woke up acting as the little principessa's teddy bear.

Seeing Jager standing there with a camera, he almost growled. Almost.

"I see you've fallen victim to her as well," he commented.

Bermuda tried to extract himself, but the little one had him in a death grip.

She hugged him a little tighter, before she let him slip out.

How long had it been? How long had he gone without having someone fear him, or even dare to give him something as simple as a hug without flinching?

None of his men were the 'affectionate' type, and the lone female was more tomboy than anything. After they were brought back, things like hugs or kindness had fallen firmly to the wayside and were forgotten about.

And yet this little girl walked right past all their defenses, didn't even flinch when she saw even a little past their bandages and chains, and openly _hugged_ them. Didn't even bat an eye at the thought of using someone like him as a teddy bear.

He could see why his men were so taken with her to the point they weren't really putting much effort into finding her familigia.

Jager didn't know whether to bring this up or not, but decided to throw it out there anyway.

"About the seal she has on her..."

"...If we haven't found her familigia within the next month we'll call in an expert to have it removed _properly_. Honestly, what sort of complete idiot thinks sealing a child not even ten is acceptable, especially if they had active flames?"

Jager would spread the news. He was honestly curious what sort of Flame her foolish _former_ family had wanted to keep from the world.

When they finally managed to locate an expert to unseal the little princess (using a proxy so that no one associated her with them as a precaution), they were all completely shocked when they found out what her flames were.

Shocked and pissed. Any chances of returning the little _Sky_ were dead in the water, as even Bermuda couldn't come up with the resolve to send her back to whoever was stupid enough to seal a baby Sky.

Though it was merely proof that even the dreaded leader of the Vindice had fallen and fallen hard for the little princess, who treated them like the humans they once were and would hug them without an ounce of fear. She didn't even react to their Flames of Night.

"What are we going to name our little princess?" asked Celia (the lone female Vindice of the group).

That set off a panic among them. So far they had been making do with calling her "little princess" or more recently "little Sky".

While his men were having mild panic attacks, Bermuda sighed. At least it was a welcome distraction from the mess on his desk.

Seeing the little one happily sitting on Jager's lap sipping her juice, he had an idea.

"Sora Himeno," he said flatly.

"Boss?" asked Jager, confused.

"She's Japanese, or raised there. Or did none of you actually register that she only knows limited Italian but speaks Japanese fluently?" deadpanned Bermuda.

"Sora Himeno... or if you go by the Japanese habit of using last names first... Oh. Princess of Sky," said Celia, catching on first.

"Which means I won't be hearing any more arguments over new pet names, and it's easy enough for all of you to remember," said Bermuda.

They all looked at the newly dubbed Sora Himeno. Or just Hime for short.

Celia hugged Hime to her chest, and Hime hugged her back. The woman was odd, but very nice. A lot nicer than the people they saved her from or even her own family.

Even if she didn't talk much.

"Hear that, little Principessa? You're staying with us!" she said excitedly.

Having the little Sky in their dull fortress seemed to brighten everyone's mood.

"Which family was she from, anyway?" asked another brave soul. He winced at the look Celia shot at him.

Bermuda rolled his eyes, not that you could really see it.

"Don't you people use your eyes? She's a Vongola, likely Giotto's descendant to boot."

It was like a bomb went off.

Bermuda flared his Flames to shut them all up...they were giving him a headache.

"How do you know, Boss?" asked Jager.

"I was suspicious when she primarily stuck to Japanese when talking to us. The purity and strength of her Sky was a big clue, but it was when I was looking through our old records that I found an old picture of that fool Giotto and saw the strong resemblance. If you recall that man moved to Japan when his nephew forcibly took the throne for himself," said Bermuda flatly.

"We don't have to hand her over, will we?" asked Celia.

"They had their chance... you left them a contact number and once I realized who she _used_ to belong to I went looking for rumors of the Vongola searching for someone specifically fitting her description. There was nothing...and I checked the general area where Giotto settled in when he retired. I found her mother and she's better off with us...that woman is either delusional or under a Mist illusion to believe her daughter is still there."

"And her father?" asked Jager, accepting the little sky back into his lap. Her flames coiled around the room like a warm blanket on a cold day.

"The man is married to his work and a fool besides. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed the amount of work we've had dealing with CEDEF," said Bermuda. "If he's too stupid to realize his own men are going rogue on him, then there's no way he would be responsible enough to raise a child...likely why she was left with her mother until she was taken."

Seeing how possessively _Jager_ was hugging Himeno, there was no way in _hell_ the Vongola were getting the girl back. Not when they showed this level of incompetence just looking for her.

If they had any brains they would have sent out enough 'feelers' that Celia would have noticed and used to return her. Now though...now she was theirs.

And the strangest thing was that the little princess hadn't needed Sky flames to worm her way into what little heart they had left.

All she did was treat them like human beings, despite their terrifying appearance and powers. It was baffling.

Though Bermuda would happily kill anyone stupid enough to claim he was developing a tsundere complex...or perhaps a "Himeno-complex" over a little girl.


	34. To Live and Die Again Chapter One

In one world, a tired wizard who had been through far too much and never had a chance to actually live looked back on his life...and decided he was tired of trying.

Tired of pretending everything was alright, even when he was breaking inside. Tired of his saint-like patience being pushed to the bring dealing with so much sheer _stupidity_. Tired of being something he wasn't, just because the masses demanded it from him.

And so he reached out to the one entity who never lied to him. The one being in the universe who had been upfront and positively blunt about the fact he was about to be screwed over but good for the rest of his life because of something he had no real control over.

He didn't know what the god was, only that the man had been refreshingly unsympathetic or caring towards his own situation, and asked him for a second chance.

A chance to actually _live_ , even if he would cease to exist in this life.

It wasn't like he had anything to properly live for in the first place, after all.

"Shitty old man... remember that favor you owe me? I'm cashing it in," he said.

"No respect from the youth of today. Is that how you're planning to cash in a debt?"

He glared at the god before him with a flat, unimpressed look.

"We both know I'll inevitably be roped into whatever system you have planned to cleanse the leylines that surround the earth. The world is too broken, too dirtied by the fools who don't even care about what they're doing to magic itself to survive. So why not make an agreement?" he shot back.

The man stared back, before rubbing his poor excuse of a beard.

"Go on."

"Use the Hallows to create the items. Three safeguards against the destruction of the world, rather than allow more death to seep in. I'll even throw in my own soul fire into the bargain."

"Hmm... tempting. The fire of the never-ending Sky, to safeguard the world from destruction. But what do you want in return?"

"Life."

The man stared for a moment, before he looked at him hard.

"You won't have most of the personal memories of this life... but I can at least let you keep your instincts and the memories of magic."

"Just let me keep my spell knowledge and how to survive. I refuse to be made a puppet a second time, regardless of someone else's so-called 'good intentions'," he said flatly. "Personal memories I can live without, since I'm trying to make a clean start."

"Fair enough. The phoenix will be reborn with a clean slate, even if you won't remember why you did this for a few rounds at least," said the older figure.

"It's a price worth paying to be free."

A cold wind seemed to blow through the room.

 _Then let the phoenix be unchained from the bonds placed upon them by those who ignore all that was sacrificed. To ignore the lessons that should have been remembered through blood and soul._

And with that, the younger figure died in his chair. A smile of freedom and contentment on his face, knowing he would finally lose the chains that had been placed upon him by the fools who caused this mess in the first place.

Kawahira took the Hallows from his body. As the young man requested, he would reforge them into new objects. Sepira could hand them out to the worthy, but the most dangerous ones would only have temporary owners.

At least until their true Master was finally ready to reclaim them and set the system free.

* * *

The first Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, was remade into a set of seven rings capable of seeing through dimensions.

The second Hallow, the Elder Wand, was remade into a set of seven pacifiers that would change owners much like the original had.

The third and final Hallow, the Death Cloak, was remade into yet another set of rings. This one capable of hiding the souls that bonded to them from Death's embrace by placing them in a special pocket realm inside the cloak so that they might pass on their wisdom to their descendants.

And so the Tri-Ni-Sette were created.

Unknown to the people who would replace the magicals that had so tainted the earth with their foolishness, these items were less of a curse and more of a last gift from the man who once acted as their true master.

A clean slate for more than just himself, but for the world.

But like so many things, the meaning behind the gift was lost and was slowly dredged in the taint of innocent blood spilled.

The Mare Rings, which held the power to traverse even death to see into the timelines of other worlds, slowly drove their Sky insane from an influx of too many minds that were _all the same person._ The knowledge of how every action played out, moments taken or lost, was too much for their minds to bear.

The Vongola Rings, which held the power of the infamous Death Cloak, slipped into the wrong hands and were tainted by the terrible "Sin" of the Vongola familigia. A taint that should never have been forcibly passed from generation to generation.

The Arcobaleno Pacifiers, which held the remnants of the Elder Wand, remained untouched...until one of their former owners decided to unknowingly abuse it's connection to death and return, creating the Vindice. The former Arcobaleno now had to chose between a cursed existence and death.

Needless to say Kawahira really hated humans sometimes.

Tainting the last gift of a man who had sacrificed everything precious to him, of a saint who only ever thought of others even at the cost of his own soul...it caused his own mind to darken against humanity as a whole.

Slowly, even Kawahira fell victim to the dark taint that had embedded itself into the magic that made up the world. Though his was far weaker than it could have been.

* * *

When one looked at Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, the first thing that would strike you (if you were a fan of history or part of the Vongola) was that he bore a remarkable resemblance to Giotto Vongola, the first Vongola boss.

This was especially obvious when he activated his flames at age _five_. Several years younger than any other person in quite some time. Nearly a century in fact. Though the last one was almost seven when they activated their flames.

Needless to say Iemitsu was not pleased, which was rather odd considering how loved Skies were.

So he convinced his boss/father figure to seal the Flames. Not with a permanent seal, but with something that would only break in the most dire of circumstances.

What the man didn't know was that putting Tsuna in contact with the Vongola's Sky ring so young, and so soon after activating his Flames, caused an invisible chain reaction in his soul.

Something deep inside him _stirred._

When Tsuna passed out at having his soul forcibly shoved behind a seal, memories awakened. A new power replaced what was sealed, one that hadn't been seen in over a millennia.

He would wake up to find his 'father' and 'grandfather' gone back to wherever they came from, a perpetual feeling of cold and his mind almost feeling like it was swimming in cold treacle. ( _What was treacle?_ )

Things only got worse from there.

If there was one thing Tsuna hated, it was the staring and the whispers.

Originally he had paid it no mind, as he had been a happy child.

Now though... now it was though he was hyper aware of what was happening around him, to the point he heard even the smallest cold word and saw every action.

It was awful. Especially when the other children decided to take out their bad days on him. After all, he was the 'worthless son of a whore' according to some of their mothers.

Tsuna, in a rare show of compassion, forgave his classmates for their bad habits and bullying ways. It wasn't their fault. They were only following the lead of their parents and the stronger children.

However if they ever went further than cruel words or petty pranks, he would fight back.

* * *

 _Tsuna, age fifteen_

Tsuna groaned as he woke up to yet another day of hypocrisy, bigotry and outright stupidity.

In short, another day of public schooling when you're the lowest person on the totem pole and universally mocked by the entire school save for one or two extremely _rare_ people who had an actual personality. Everyone else was just a face in the crowd to him, not really worth noting or remembering.

Tsuna had always been terrible with faces.

His mind automatically sorted the info-dump he always got while he slept. He didn't know why he had those weird dreams or the strange knowledge, but he was glad he did.

His life was so much easier, especially when he got he first tidbits of how to avoid bullies and ignore the jeering of the sheep.

Everyone thought Tsuna was the slowest, least athletic person in school. They even had a special nickname that was known to almost every student.

Dame Tsuna, or "No-Good".

In reality he downplayed his intelligence and abilities. Stupid things like grades didn't matter in the long run, especially in certain circles.

After all, what good were grades when you knew how to hack a high level computer? What did they matter when you were passing college-level courses online to get your degree?

As for PE...well that was basically just to get the excess energy out of people while trying to instill things like teamwork and basic sportsmanship. Two things that he didn't really get considering no one wanted to be friends with him, and he rarely actually _did_ anything to earn the ire of his 'teammates' when they lost.

There might be no "I" in "Team", but there certainly was in hypocrisy.

Blaming him every time they lost simply because he was on their team was stupid.

So imagine his surprise when he came home and found his mother hired a home tutor.

Instincts he had long since learned to trust had him grabbing his things and going out the _back_ , rather than the front. He slipped past his mother and was gone before anyone was the wiser.

In less than an hour, he found himself with a massive headache that took the form of a two-year old that looked way too familiar.

And not because he had met him before.

"Ciaossu. I'm your new home tutor."

Tsuna gave the fake infant a hard stare. He knew he had heard of someone who fit this description before, but where...

Seeing the green gun aimed in his direction, it hit him.

"Ah! You're Reborn! Now I remember where I've heard of you!" said Tsuna suddenly, catching the infant off guard.

"You've heard of me."

"Yeah, one of my friends on a game I play online is always bitching about you," said Tsuna without thinking. "Actually a few of them tend to bitch about someone fitting your description, but they never said you were so tiny."

"Oh? What sort of 'friends'?"

Tsuna had a bad feeling about revealing his friends to this infant. Odds were he'd get retribution in some way against them.

"Well Viper_of_the_Mist tends to bitch a lot about how expensive the coffee you drink is and how you almost never pay your share of the bill. And Dragon_Eyed_Storm likes to complain about about your sense of chaos is rather irritating to deal with," said Tsuna cryptically.

Reborn's face was impassive...but inside he was planning to give Fon and Viper an earful. So they were complaining about him to civilians, were they?

"Anyway why on earth were you really sent? Even I know my mother doesn't really notice or care about my grades much less my health. If she did she would have let me become a shut in years ago," said Tsuna bitterly. "And the promptness of your arrival is way too suspicious, considering she only got that 'flier' this morning."

Reborn gave him a hard stare, before he smirked. Looks like this boy wasn't completely oblivious as he had assumed. He was a bit more observant than he acted.

"I'm here to turn you into a mafia boss."

Tsuna stared at him. Hard.

"It can't be from my mother's side...she's too normal and oblivious even when she sees something most people would take notice of. So it has to be my father's side. Why now?" asked Tsuna logically.

Reborn looked at the boy with open approval. The fact he was able to work out that much spoke volumes of him actually having a brain.

"The short and simple of it is that you're the only heir left. All the others died."

Reborn displayed a set of photos and a brief summary of what happened to them. Tsuna openly snorted at what happened to Massimo.

"Isn't that like a total cliché way of getting killed, the whole cement shoes and water bit?"

Reborn snorted in agreement. After those ridiculous movies were made, a lot of weaker and newer mafioso tried to look "badass" by recreating the scene. Instead they just outed themselves as posers.

These days the whole cement shoes in the water death was automatically attributed to the mafia, or at least someone pretending to be mafia.

Tsuna looked at Reborn with a hard, flat look.

"There's no way I'm going to get out of this anytime soon, is there?"

"Since I was the one sent to train you, no," said Reborn bluntly.

Tsuna openly groaned. Then he stared at the green gun once again aimed in his direction.

"Now, I think it's time you showed me what you can do with your Dying Will," said Reborn cheerfully. He pulled the trigger.

The events that happened next would never be fully clear to Reborn until much, much later.

All he would remember was the shockwave, his new student unleashing the purest Sky Flames he had ever felt in his life, and a sense of tired amusement in his direction...and slight irritation for something he had no reason for.

Though the sight of his new student ruining the lives of several civilians through his phone was definitely not something he expected.

Tsuna was turning out to be a lot more interesting than his profile suggested...


	35. Fires of the Feng-Huang Chapter One

It was the scent of something deliciously familiar that drew him to the quaint sweet shop. He walked straight in and found a variety of sweets from the standard cakes, cookies and Western desserts.

But it was the Asian ones that had his attention. Daifuku, mochi, dango, there were even a small selection of Chinese desserts and treats that had caught his attention from outside.

Smiling, he walked up to the counter already mentally picking out which ones he would buy.

The clerk took one look at his features and a broad smile came across her face.

"Ni Hao!" she said pleasantly, surprising him a little that she knew he was Chinese. _"Welcome to the White Snow Bakery... what would you like to order?"_

It was a shock to hear his native tongue spoken to him, even if he did detect a hint of an accent. His good mood brightened hearing that, even as he slipped easily into Italian.

"I would like two orders of daifuku and manju, miss. And tea, if you have any," he said smiling widely.

"Green, black or Oolong? We also have mixes, but we're out of the Assam and Ceylon at the moment," she said promptly, already pulling out his selections.

"Oolong, please."

"If you want, we do offer some discreet booths so you can enjoy your food and drink in peace without having to deal with the staring," she said.

Well, he wasn't about to turn down an offer like that, and he would love to properly enjoy his tea.

She went to the back and pulled out a proper tea set from Asia. Once he picked his seat, she set it down with a warm smile.

He took a small sip to test the leaves and relaxed completely. It had been far too long since he enjoyed treats like this _and_ a proper glass of tea that was brewed correctly. Best of all he was able to enjoy it in peace, without having to ignore the staring of the Italians or other tourists.

He would _definitely_ be making this his go-to stop for tea and snacks from now on.

The girl from before came back to pick up the tea set, and even gave him some dango to enjoy later. On the house.

* * *

"Your favorite customer is back," teased Angelica.

Mashiro blushed.

"Which one?"

"Well it's not Mr. Suave and Mysterious, it's your favorite dragon," she shot back.

" _Hello, Mashiro-chan,"_ said the _very_ handsome Chinese martial artist in Japanese.

He only had to hear her name to guess she was of Asian descent as well, and had taken to using Japanese whenever he saw her. Though he was more than happy to correct her pronunciation whenever they used Chinese instead.

Mashiro was the one who made all the Asian desserts and tea. Though she could brew a good espresso, as her other frequent customer (aka Suave and Mysterious according to the girls) could openly attest. He mostly came for her coffee and the sweets.

" _Hello, Huo-san!"_ she replied cheerfully. _"I brought some fresh gyoza, though I always seem to add just a bit too much garlic. And I haven't gotten the ingredients for Mapo Tofu yet."_

Huo smiled at her, and her heart fluttered...just a bit. He had been coming in for two months already and she knew she had a major crush on him.

He was an honest critic when it came to her food, though thankfully she only needed to make a few adjustments. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, since she at least knew how to make rice correctly.

All the Asian restaurants in town kept getting that simple task so hilariously wrong it was just sad. She would buy the toppings but it was better if she made the rice herself. It always came out too soggy, or too dry.

(A fact he was very quick to agree with.)

Huo took his usual booth behind the potted plants, while Mashiro brought out the tea. The two chatted amicably for about twenty minutes when her other regular came in.

"Hello Dark and Mysterious!" said Angelica with a laugh. "Mashiro is with her dragon friend in the booth near the plants."

Huo chuckled at the description. He found the fact Mashiro openly compared him to a dragon highly amusing...and it was only more so when he realized she was blushing.

His amusement almost stopped cold when he saw who "Dark and Mysterious" was.

He'd recognize that hit man anywhere.

"Well isn't this a surprise?" said Renato Sinclair amused.

"Behave Ren. I can at least trust Huo not to make a scene, but you thrive on too much chaos for me to do the same for you," she said dryly, sitting down his usual cup.

Renato chuckled, before sitting down. Mashiro eyed them both and sighed.

"You two know each other. Not personally, but enough to know who the other one is, don't you?"

"Something like that," said Renato.

Clearly the greatest hit man in Italy wasn't interested in causing a scene. And from the way he acted around Mashiro, he only came in for coffee and snacks... much like he came in for tea and to act as her very happy food tester.

Besides, it was the only way he could get properly made rice and other foods from home without having to worry about being poisoned or owing someone in the process.

The two knew each other on a professional level, but kept their small talk in code so as not to alert Mashiro. A silent truce between them lasted all the way until they were a few blocks from the shop.

"So... you come in for the food and drink as well?" asked Huo evenly.

"Her coffee is one of the best I've had in years. The tiramisu is okay," said Renato in the same tone.

"It's the only place I can get proper food from home, never mind that it's one of the few shops that carry fresh tea to order," admitted Huo.

The two looked at each other for a moment.

"So... we agree not to bring our work into the shop and use it as a quiet meeting place to share gossip?" he suggested.

Huo nodded in agreement. It was so rare to find a 'neutral' spot to speak with possible allies where you knew the other party wouldn't start something.

"A mutual truce between us so long as we're around Mashiro," said Huo.

Renato tipped his fedora in agreement. There was something about her that made it hard for him to want to start anything. Even if it meant losing out on some entertaining chaos.

* * *

 _A few weeks later..._

Huo didn't even need to ask. He could tell Mashiro was foolishly trying to work despite her obvious fever.

Angelica kept giving her worried looks, and who could blame her.

"Do you know where her home is?" he inquired discreetly.

Angelica rattled off an address...it was ten blocks away, easy walking distance. She even handed him a key.

"If you can get her to at least rest for a day, you're a miracle worker," she said quietly. "God knows that girl needs to take a few days off every once in a while anyway."

"Hey... what..." said Mashiro in the break room, as Huo calmly picked her up without warning.

Angelica and the other girls stared, but had the decency not to laugh until Mashiro was out of hearing.

"If she doesn't end up with one of those two I'd be very surprised," said Angelica.

The others nodded in agreement, laughing. Mashiro was completely oblivious to the fact that the two handsome men were flirting with her.

 _With Huo and Mashiro..._

Considering her fever, it was only natural she gave up fighting after a few blocks. Instead she merely grumbled in annoyance.

"I'm not that sick."

"I can feel your temperature from here. You should have stayed in bed if you had a fever," said Huo, part sympathetic but mostly amused.

He and Renato had a bet going on how long it would take for Mashiro to realize they were flirting with her, and who would end up with her first.

He could safely say he just made a major victory against the Sun. Renato was going to be pouting for _days_ , he just knew it.

Though she was blushing openly (and not from the fever) from the looks people were giving them. Mostly because Huo was carrying her princess-style to her apartment.

She handed him the key and it didn't take long for him to sit her on the couch while he went to make a pot of tea.

"Did you at least take any medicine?"

"I ran out last week, and I forgot to get more," she said, not elaborating _why_ she ran out. Huo wisely didn't ask... mostly because he could make a general guess. The over the counter medicines that most favored were also highly effective for menstrual cramps.

And by this point it was safe to assume that both the men who frequented her shop knew roughly when it was "that time of the month", if only because she was far less cheerful and a bit more grumpy.

Huo reached into his long sleeves and pulled something out. He always carried a few vials of herbs with him, if only to speed up the healing process or deal with minor injuries. Fortunately he happened to have a few that were mildly effective on fevers as well as general aches and pains.

When the tea started to whistle, he mixed up a small dose of the herbs along with the tea leaves and let them steep.

Mashiro didn't argue when it was cool enough...she drank the entire cup. Within a few minutes she started to feel rather sleepy.

It took a few moments to switch out into her pajamas, and she didn't even consider the ramifications of having a grown man in her apartment.

"Sleep, Mashiro-hime," he said gently, making sure she was covered up. He wasn't about to make any moves on her while she was sick.

Though he did notice with open amusement that she clung to his sleeve and even curled up like a kitten against him when he sat down on the bed next to her.

The girl was really too cute for her own good.

Mashiro felt a lot better when she woke up from her nap... though oddly she still felt warm. She honestly had no idea her water heater had broken down the night before when she took that shower... she had just thought she hadn't turned the hot water up enough, but had been too lazy to adjust it.

Then she smelled something burning and sprang out of bed immediately.

Her poor kitchen.

She stared at the mess on the stove, and couldn't help it. She started laughing.

"This explains so much," she said, unable to restrain her giggles.

Huo had tried to cook something on the stove, only for it to end up completely burnt. He looked rather sheepish about it, actually.

He could mix up medicine from common herbs, but the second anything more than a small fire was needed he was all thumbs.

There was a reason he ate out so much.

"I always wondered why you were so eager to act as my test dummy for my recipes, even going so far as to show up for lunch _and_ dinner," she said laughing. "You really can't cook at all, can you?"

"I can mix medicine well enough, but my original teacher was very much a misogynist. He was of the opinion that cooking should firmly be left to the females," said Huo embarrassed. "And by the time I had a chance to learn, it was too late because I kept making charcoal every time."

Mashiro laughed with some sympathy. The fact Huo acknowledged his teacher was a misogynist was a good sign of his character. It meant he disagreed with his opinion on women. Or at least didn't agree _outright_.

"Sit down and I'll make a basic stew. I can do that much a least," she said, getting over her laughter at the sight.

"I can make some tea or rice," offered Huo, getting over his own private embarrassment. He did discreetly check her temperature, which had gone down considerably since she took a nap.

The stew was simple, but delicious...and leagues better than anything he could make.

"So... why exactly did you stay?" she asked, lightly blushing.

"Partly to make sure your fever was going down, but mostly curiosity," admitted Huo. He wanted to see if he could learn more about the girl... oddly her apartment was pretty lacking in that department. It was like she hadn't existed until she opened up her little shop three years ago.

The only reason he wasn't alarmed was because she still firmly read as a "civilian" to his trained senses, and therefor was mostly harmless.

"Curiosity?"

Huo smiled...well, it was more of a smirk...wondering when Mashiro would figure out what her co-workers already had weeks ago when they first started this little competition.

"Never mind. So I take it that since you can't cook to save your life, you eat out a lot?" said Mashiro.

"Unfortunately," said Huo. "I can make some basic rice, but the most I can do cooking wise is foraging or hunting for meat and letting it cook over a campfire."

"Which isn't actually practical considering how readily available food is these days," she said with sympathy.

Which only lead to him taking even _more_ jobs so he wouldn't starve. He might be able to survive in the wilds with his hunting skills, but that didn't mean he _enjoyed_ having to forage for food for hours!

It was an endless cycle he loathed.

Mashiro grinned.

"Well in that case, how about whenever you're in town you come by here and I'll make you something? Not that I'm complaining about how much you spend at my shop, but having to eat out because you can't cook is ridiculous."

Huo blinked, before a slow smile came upon his face.

"Are you sure?"

"It's a win-win for both of us. You won't have to eat out as much, I get someone to test my new creations _and_ it means I can get you to bring in some real spices rather than having to substitute or special order it from the shops all the time!"

"I'm pretty sure Ren doesn't bother to cook either," Huo pointed out. "He's something of a flirt so he most likely cons his 'dates' into doing it for him. Knowing him the only thing he _can_ make is that precious coffee of his."

Mashiro snorted.

"Ren's nice enough, but he's on his own for now. Unless he wants to give up on trying to get into the pants of my assistants every time he shows up. I can live with the flirting, but not the blatant way he keeps leading them on."

Huo snorted openly. Ren's reputation wasn't earning him any brownie points from Mashiro. While she found him good company, she clearly wasn't interested in being "just another conquest".

That meant Renato had a lesser chance of winning, not that Huo was fool enough to mention their bet.

He wasn't about to turn down Mashiro's cooking though. It was nearly impossible to find a good Asian restaurant that knew what they were doing when it came to spices.

Seeing her yawn, Huo grinned. He put a hand against her forehead and was rather pleased when she leaned into it.

"You're still a bit warm. I think a bit more rest and you should be fine by tomorrow evening at least."

She nodded, having trouble staying awake with a full stomach and still being so sick.

Huo once again picked her up and carried her into the room... though he noticed she instinctively leaned into his neck and curled into his side. If she had been feeling better she would have been mortified, but for now she was taking shameless advantage of the situation. She even clung to his sleeve again.

Apparently Mashiro was something of a shameless cuddler.

Sadly he still had to put the food up (there was enough for lunch tomorrow if one of them made rice) and clear the dishes away. He was rather pleased Mashiro had some chopsticks as well as the usual cutlery.

He had noticed her preferred pair was an orange set with what looked like a Kirin on it.

* * *

"You _what_?" said Renato in disbelief.

"I have an open invitation to crash her house for food. In exchange I bring her spices that she can use to cook with since she has to special order it otherwise," said Huo rather smugly.

"How in the hell did you pull that off?"

"She had a fever and her co-workers conspired against her. Then she found out I tend to eat out rather than attempt to cook."

"Why bother? Most women would happily warm your bed and cook for you," said Renato dismissively.

"And that's the reason why she hasn't invited you to her apartment yet. It was strange though..."

"Strange how?"

"From the looks of the apartment she's only been in Italy for three years, yet there's no sign of where she lived before or her family. It's like she showed up out of the blue with nothing before she opened her little shop."

"Odd, but not really important."

"She's also a cuddler," said Huo unashamed.

"Now you're just bragging," scowled Renato.

"I'm serious. If you sat next to her when she's half asleep she'll curl right into you without even thinking about it. She didn't even think twice about snuggling against me when I was carrying her," continued Huo, enjoying how annoyed Renato was with him right now.

"I think I hate you right now," he scowled.

Huo smiled serenely, though you could tell he was smug as hell about the whole thing.


	36. To Live and Die Again Chapter Two

**Just to be clear, the last chapter was NOT a crossover, but a time travel fic.**

* * *

Tsuna is a contradiction in human form. It was fascinating.

Reborn only had to observe the boy properly for a week before he threw out everything the Vongola had remotely given him about the teen into the trash before burning it.

It wasn't hard to see why no one noticed...if he hadn't been specifically looking for inconsistencies since the younger male had managed to recognize him on the barest description from his online friends, he never would have bothered looking.

The Tsuna he had been told to train was a "no good" teenager with crappy grades, even less skill at anything physical and was generally pathetic from his personality to his abilities.

The Tsuna he was slowly getting to open up around him was not the person he had been told about by the Vongola, limited information that it was.

There was a quiet disdain for humanity in general, yet with the odd contradiction of having the patience of a saint for the amount of harassment he received every day. He _could_ do something about the idiots, but chose not to.

It wasn't that his grades were bad...no one who could keep up with online college-level courses and was almost finished earning a degree in computer science could possibly be an idiot. And he wasn't a complete klutz like Dino had been at that age and still was to an extent.

It was more like he was simply going through the motions for lack of anything better to do.

Reborn also noted that Tsuna's disdain for his peers was so strong that he would openly have difficulty being able to remember their names. According to the teen they weren't worth remembering, since it was highly unlikely they even had any opinion of him outside of what the rumor mill had.

A general collective of mindless sheep, ones who followed the loudest one to bleat among them.

A sentiment Reborn could fully commiserate with, if only because he could see where Tsuna was coming from.

He did find it amusing that Tsuna had a strange relationship with the Cloud who had clearly taken over the school as his territory. Tsuna was the _only_ person who could go on the roof when Hibari was up there napping, and the two would pass their lunch hour in perfect silence.

It was like they had an agreement that transcended mere words.

So Reborn decided now was the perfect time to introduce a new element. With any luck Tsuna would accept the hot headed idiot as his Storm.

* * *

Tsuna took one look at Gokudera Hayato, before he rolled his eyes.

Why did Reborn bring this puppy here? What was he up to now?

At least the infant agreed that he could half-ass his middle school grades considering he accidentally busted Tsuna working on his real homework.

Tsuna's immediate assumption of puppy was automatically "upgraded" to "abused puppy looking for a good home" once the Italian confronted him.

He kept seeing a 'tail' wagging like crazy when he didn't dismiss Gokudera after the mess he made in the yard or push him away for the bullshit he was spouting in class. Though there was _one_ thing he did do after hearing Gokudera insistently call him "Tenth" or "Tsuna-sama".

Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose, before looking Gokudera dead in the eye with annoyance.

"Look... if you can't just call me Tsuna without the overly respectful formal additive, then just call me 'Boss' around others. It's far less likely to draw attention to me in general while still being respectful," said Tsuna with a patient tone.

He could almost see Gokudera vibrate in agreement.

"Sure thing, Boss!" he said eagerly.

Well that was one headache averted. Now he could slowly work Gokudera away from the sycophant behavior he was displaying to something a bit closer to trusted best friend/possible adviser.

Though he still had a massive headache when he inadvertently let his _real_ opinion of his classmates when someone brought up his new "status" with the "hot new transfer student".

Seeing Gokudera all ready to blow everyone up because they were mindlessly repeating the same bullshit they did the day before, Tsuna didn't even think about what he was doing. He yanked the half-Italian down to his chair.

"Boss?" said Gokudera confused at the action.

"There's no point using those against sheep. They're only bleating the same thing they've been using since grade school. It's not their fault that they mindlessly been parroting what their parents tell them," said Tsuna flatly.

Needless to say quite a few people took offense to that.

"You think you're better than us, Dame-Tsuna?" sneered Mochida.

Tsuna blinked, realizing he had revealed his opinion of everyone in his class, before he decided to hell with it.

"Yes, I do. Because I haven't sunk to the level of a child pretending they're bigger than everyone else by going after the one person who has patience not to snap at every little insult or jab," said Tsuna bluntly. "To be perfectly honest, I care so little about your so-called opinions that I genuinely have no idea what any of your names are save for one or two people in this class and that's because you're always hovering about them trying to siphon off whatever it is that makes them more than mere sheep."

Dead silence. Outside Reborn was face-palming in disbelief.

Someone finally spoke, mostly out of honest confusion.

"Ahaha... you don't actually bother to remember our names?" said one of the rare people Tsuna _did_ recognize.

"Why should I bother to register anyone in this class as something other than a sheep who follows the herd when not a single one of you has bothered to know me as anything other than 'useless, no-good Tsuna'?" he openly countered. "You people only care about me long enough to harass and belittle me because it makes you feel better about yourselves. So I decided it was only fair to give you the same acknowledgment. The few people I _do_ recognize in this class to bother remembering your names are the very rare individuals who have never actively joined in on it."

He said all of this with a bored, almost matter-of-fact tone. Like he had come to terms with the fact that he would never see any of his classmates as human or individuals long enough to bother with their names. To be fair, he was only mirroring the treatment they gave him in a far more quiet setting.

Gokudera was glaring at everyone in the classroom. It didn't take someone of his genius-level IQ to realize that the mere fact that Tsuna actually remembered his name in the first place was high praise coming from him. It meant he didn't see him as someone who acted like a mindless sheep.

"Though to be fair, I think the fact I see most of you as sheep is probably the reason Hibari-san has never tried to bite me to death, even when I've been late to school. He doesn't like you idiots much either," finished Tsuna.

The two had an unspoken mutual understanding...in that they both knew most of the school was filled with mindless idiots who were barely worth registering unless they did something to bring too much attention to themselves. Like crowding together or making too much of a racket when Hibari was around.

The silent teen found the fact Tsuna had started carrying around actual score cards to rate his "biting to death" of the annoying herbivores openly hilarious and generally waited until he could get an honest critique from Tsuna about it.

Either way, Tsuna's reputation took a metaphorical hit. Not like he cared, considering the second he turned eighteen he was so gone from this place it wasn't even funny. He even had a countdown of sorts on his calendar, for his eighteenth birthday.

Reborn either hadn't noticed or decided not to comment on it.

"That was quiet the mess you left behind in your class," said Reborn. He was not amused and it showed.

"Not my problem. And if they try to escalate with their usual nonsense I have no problems with replying in kind."

Reborn looks at Tsuna with an odd expression.

"You're not a nice person."

"Pot, this is calling the kettle black," countered Tsuna. "And it's not that I'm that apathetic... it's just..."

"What?"

"It feels way too much like I've done this whole song and dance before and it didn't end well last time. Except this time I'm more likely to speak my actual mind and accept the fact the odds of me finding actual friends that are willing to stick by my side and not try to shove their own opinions and morals down my throat or follow peer pressure are nonexistent," said Tsuna. There was a strangely defeated look in his eyes.

Reborn looked at his student with an odd expression.

He had never met a Sky so young that felt this tired and defeated. Like he had given up hope of finding _Harmony_ that he just accepted it was his lot in life to be forever alone.

The only time he ever saw this sort of behavior was from others like him, who had searched for that elusive Sky to accept them into their Harmony, only to be rejected so often they gave up entirely.

Reborn didn't know why he did it. He put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder with a rather show of empathy and understanding.

This wasn't right. A Sky should never feel this defeated and hopeless...they were supposed to be the ones that brought balance to other Elements.

Then again perhaps there were residual effects to sealing a Sky that no one had thought to mention to him. That Tsuna had already tried to court Elements only to be blocked at every turn by the seal, and just decided it wasn't worth it.

The only evidence that he hadn't entirely given up trying, that he still held the faintest vestiges of hope was the fact that he was unconsciously courting that Cloud in his school.

Reborn had the feeling that Tsuna only needed to expose his Sky Flames around the violent brat to harmonize with him. The two had one of the weirdest friendships he had ever seen and that was saying something.

* * *

Reborn was stalking...er, _observing_ his student the day the strong Rain Latent shows signs of Sky Attraction and actually asks him for advice. The boy is clearly suffering from tendinitis or tennis elbow (possibly both) and the fact he chose Tsuna as the one to ask said volumes.

So he is a little caught off guard when Tsuna surprises him yet again...and displayed even more evidence that Iemitsu is a complete idiot for not really noticing his son properly.

A real mafioso would have seen the instincts Tsuna was displaying and the fact he was much more observant than the average person. The fact he instinctively dumbed down his abilities and intelligence proved he wasn't a fool.

Tsuna patiently listened to Takeshi, before going to his bag and pulling out two items.

One was an unopened packet of Tylenol...the other was an unopened bottle of water. He handed both to a very confused Yamamoto.

"Uh... thanks?"

"These should dull the worst of the pain in your right arm until you can get to the doctor to have it properly checked out. Why that idiot coach hasn't noticed the fact you have the early stages of tendinitis is rather odd. That the team is stupid enough to put all that pressure on you without bothering to take their own skills or your health into consideration is ridiculous. If you keep practicing the way you have you're almost certain to suffer a broken bone at best or torn muscles at worst," said Tsuna flatly. "And considering you've clearly built your social circle and peer group around baseball, it's an almost guarantee that you will react badly if something happened that prevented you from playing for a few months."

Takeshi stared at him in confusion. He gave a tired, strained smile on his face.

"You're a strange, blunt guy, you know that Sawada?"

"It's none of my business whether you follow my advice and visit the doctor. However I would like to ask you one thing...exactly what do you want to do with your life, Yamamoto-san? Are you really going to let baseball take over your life to the point that you can't function without it? You literally spend _every day_ focused entirely around Takeshi Yamamoto, junior baseball star. Do you really want that to be the most you'll ever be?" asked Tsuna seriously.

Unseen by the teen was the fact his eyes were glowing a warm amber. A sign of active Sky flames...though that was as much as he could do with the seal still in place.

Takeshi blinked.

"I thought you said you didn't know most of our names."

"I said I don't bother to remember the names of people who won't bother to remember mine outside of what the rumors say. You're one of the extremely rare people in our class that I actually acknowledge as someone with the potential to be something other than a mindless sheep repeating everything the herd says. You've never joined in on the bullying or harassment and mostly stay out of it, which is pretty much the only reason I bothered to notice you at all. It's also why I noticed that the team is putting everything on your shoulder rather than bothering to practice themselves or notice the fact you are clearly in pain," corrected Tsuna. "If I were you, I'd take a break from the baseball team and make them actually work for a win for once."

Takeshi had a sad, tired smile on his face.

"I doubt I could give up baseball like that."

"I said to drop the team, since they clearly don't notice or care about you past the fact you can win games. I didn't say to drop baseball entirely," corrected Tsuna. "It's as much a part of you as using blades is for your dad... he's a master when it comes to using those knives of his to make sushi."

Takeshi blinked. He wasn't aware that Tsuna actually knew that his dad ran a sushi shop considering his little speech a few days ago.

"Ahahaha... you're really different, aren't you, Tsuna?"

Tsuna's flat, apathetic expression morphed into genuine surprise... and confusion. Was this really the first time he had heard his name without the usual "dame" title attached to it, or his surname?

From the look on his face, that would be a yes. No wonder the boy has so much disdain of the people around him.

Less than a week later, Takeshi broke his arm while practicing in his favorite baseball cages. There was a lost look on his face before his eyes naturally gravitated to Tsuna for some reason.

There was no pity, no "I told you so", nothing that indicated he should have listened to his advice and gone to the doctor sooner.

Instead there was clear, unconditional acceptance that he would silently support Takeshi in whatever he did now.

Tsuna had known before the accident that there was something terribly wrong with his arm. He was also openly angry at the fact that the coach hadn't even picked up that Takeshi was in actual pain or that he was hurting himself with all the practicing he did. That the man hadn't pushed the rest of the team to get better so that Takeshi could actually rest and not have all the pressure on him to win.

So the decision to drop the baseball team was actually pretty easy considering. Looking back on it, he could clearly see they were just using him for an easy win in games, since so few could handle his hits. His dad almost seemed relieved when he mentioned it at dinner, even if he made sure to point out that he wasn't giving up baseball entirely.

But still... Tsuna was a very interesting guy, and the fact that he definitely bothered to remember Takeshi's name and only seemed fondly exasperated when he started joining him and the grumpy Italian for lunch helped to ease the ache in his heart because he wasn't able to play for a few months.


	37. Cloudy, with a Chance of Freedom Ch One

It had been quite the shock when, as Skull had died in that future that now would never be, he found themselves shunted not into his Arcobaleno self, but that of the seven year old boy he had been when he had first activated his Flames. That moment when the sheer desire to live sparked his Cloud Flames to keep propagating his blood until the bleeding _stopped,_ when his body first learned the ability to internalize his Cloud flames to _keep him alive_.

Skull had existed for far longer than Harry. Had seen far more of what the world had to offer. Where Harry survived, Skull had actually _lived_.

And if this truly _was_ a second chance. A way to put a lot of the wrong things right, then he was going to seize it with both hands and not look back, even if it meant losing everything he had 'gained' the first time around.

Skull had long since come to terms with the knowledge that if he had to give _everything_ up, he would not hesitate. There had been so much needless loss and pain because of Dumbledore and his inaction, so much death because he was too afraid to do what was _necessary_ to end a threat once and for all.

He was a Cloud that everyone mistook for Inverted because he was loud and had the patience of a saint when tested. They saw, but did not understand that his natural instincts had been flipped entirely due to his upbringing and the fact he was never allowed to be who he truly was.

Clouds were possessive, territorial bastards who raged whenever what was _theirs_ was threatened or taken from them. "Harry" had nothing, was never allowed to claim anything as his and only his, and was expected to share everything regardless of how he had felt about the matter. He was little more than "public property" in the eyes of the European Magical enclaves, and thus was to be kept in a gilded cage.

So it was little wonder that Harry took a step back and went to sleep, allowing Skull to take his place.

First things first... he would have to get rid of the rather poor excuse of a 'minder' in the neighborhood before he could do anything. He _knew_ that senile squib was the reason why he had been stuck there, as she reported everything to the old man.

It had taken him a night's tireless work to find the ward stone that anchored the rather pathetic wards around the home, and slowly, methodically, rewire it so that all the alarms go to him first. Blood wards are tricky, but would fall easily enough once he was _rejected_ as blood kin by the horse-faced bitch and her fat pig of a son. He wouldn't mourn their loss, even as he discovered with some glee that Vernon apparently had ties to the mafia, and not one of the good ones.

Mafia connections means he doesn't have to be as _careful_ when he wipes the Dursleys out, or the adults anyway. Dudley was still a child, and all Skull would have to do is wipe most of his memories and make it look like the trauma or a good hit to the head had given him amnesia to give the boy a clean slate to work with. Most of his behavior came from his parents being complete imbeciles who wouldn't know how to raise a _flobberworm_ , much less a child. If they had given him even an iota of discipline then his behavior wouldn't have been so deplorable, never mind the health issues he had from being obese and eating all that junk every day in large quantities.

Really, Skull was doing him a favor long term, even if Dudley likely wouldn't see it that way once he was finished.

Mrs. Figg was pathetically easy to dispose of in a way that Dumbledore couldn't help her with. She was too busy trying to keep as many of her precious kneazles and cats to think of asking Dumbledore for help or notice what "Harry" was doing, never mind that it was the same boy who had set that Animal Welfare group on her on _top_ of unleashing the darker side of Surrey's gossip circles regarding how she paid for her house and bills.

A single hint of a 'cat mill' was enough to send the senile squib out of Surrey, and by the time she realized there was no way she was getting her cats back he would be long gone.

Next came Vernon and Petunia. He vaguely recalled a class trip to London, and a little magic convinced the fat bastard to sign the slip and pay the small fee for him to go with Dudley.

It's easy to slip away from the class, the teachers too busy dealing with an irate Dudley over the fact his ice cream doesn't have the desired amount of chocolate to it and the vendor is wisely loathe to give him another for free.

Skull finds the English underworld with the ease of someone who had been there before. And, thanks to the fact no one is expecting "Harry Potter" to show up at Gringotts so soon, no one is any the wiser that he is using a backdoor into his many, many vaults.

Namely the fact he is using the Peverell vaults instead of the Potter or Black, which were almost certainly watched for any unusual transactions. The goblins were more than happy to audit the vaults...specifically the Potter-owned ones... in an effort to cut all funding to the Dursleys as well as any transactions made in his name without any actual approval.

Goblin audits took months, if not _years_ to clear up and made things needlessly difficult for any witch or wizard trying to access their precious gold. Most wizards had never even _heard_ of the concept of 'receipts', much less bothered to do their own accounting. They trusted the goblins to do all the money pinching unless they were relatively poor like the Weasleys were.

Which meant the Dursleys would have to provide actual _proof_ that they were using the funds sent to their account every month on his upkeep. Proof Skull knew damn well didn't exist.

Vernon would find his fat bank account gouged by the less than amused new blood (muggleborn) accountants hired by the goblins to act as their go between in the non-magical side of things. Skull easily avoided the house, only making a token appearance long enough to keep the rapidly decaying blood wards from falling completely.

It was with vindictive glee that Skull learns of the hit placed on Vernon and his family as a warning to the others who follow the fat pig.

The Vindice weren't likely to bother looking into who actually claimed the bounty on the bastard with an active contract on his head.

Vernon and Petunia are found dead, two days after their murder. Skull left Dudley in an orphanage with very little if any memory of who he was or who his parents were, with an obvious head wound that would explain the amnesia.

In a way, Skull is rather grateful to that bastard in the Iron Hat. If not for the fact he had been stuck for thirty years as a toddler-sized man, he never would have picked up the skills needed to bluff his way into getting an ID and passport under his preferred nom de plume using the money he got from killing Vernon.

With Dudley 'missing', Vernon and Petunia very much dead and not likely to bother him again, Skull de Mort disappeared into the mists.

* * *

Skull was rather pleased with himself. Not only was he actually going to _enjoy_ his childhood for once, but it was becoming increasingly unlikely that anyone would bother him with their 'well meaning intentions'.

The irony being that everyone assumed him to be a midget (in the non-magical world) thanks to his quick thinking and acting skills, or had recently suffered either a potions accident or had goblin ancestry that forced him to go through his magical majority a second time.

So it was with great shock and disbelief when, while in Italy, he stumbles across a familiar face on a child both older and younger than he remembered seeing.

Seeing the great Reborn scouring the trash cans for food after his mother's death, when he failed to complete a hit because of what he considered weakness... it was a major shock.

It was the Cloud who shielded the Sun from view when things got to be too much. It was the Cloud who stirred the Storm, Rain and Lightning into action when their Sky was threatened. It was the Cloud who provided the Rain that created the Mists that drifted along the ground.

Black eyes met startled emerald.

Skull, being a survivor by nature and a total softie when it came to children who genuinely needed help, doesn't even think twice.

He disappeared for a few minutes, before coming back with some cheap sandwiches from the local coffee shop and a cop of proper hot chocolate. It's not yet full winter, but the autumn winds are no less cold, especially in Venice where the water makes things that much worse.

Reborn scowls at him and says with stubborn pride "I don't accept charity."

"It's not charity. It's incentive to do me a favor later when I need it," countered Skull without hesitation. "I help you out now and you'll be inclined to give me a place to crash later when I actually need it. Besides, I know far too well what it's like to be so hungry for food that I'd happily go dumpster diving for something to fill my stomach, even if the food is expired or moldy."

Reborn gives him a long, hard look...and reluctantly accepted the sandwiches. It was pretty clear he wasn't used to going hungry and had never truly learned the same lessons all street kids did if they wanted to actually _survive_.

Skull gently rubs his back while giving him the same tips he learned the hard way.

"Small bites, and don't eat it all at once or you'll get sick later. If you eat slowly then your stomach has a chance to expand and you'll fill it up to the point where you can save the rest for later. And avoid the grates where the heat comes up... a lot of people get burns from those because they fall asleep and don't realize the danger until after the fact. Infections and burns hurt like hell," said Skull.

Seeing Reborn slow down in eating and actually _listen_ was startling. A small seed of trust was beginning to form, and Skull could only wonder if it would last the cold, hard years that was to come later.

Skull quietly coaches Renato in how to spot the magically trained birds that could carry letters. Shows the boy he knew all too well would become the World's Greatest Hit Man in how to coach said birds to him in order to deliver a message. Shows the _child_ who had yet to complete a proper hit how to blend in, to be able to walk away from the scene of a crime without drawing suspicion to himself and disappear into the background to avoid the many, many gangs who would eat the Strongest Sun alive if they caught him.

It was somewhat surreal, being the one to teach Renato the little things that would make him one of the most devastating hit men alive... but Skull is a Cloud and he wasn't about to let the petty 'crimes' committed against him by his Reborn taint the image of the unsure and untested child before him.

Seeing Renato make his first successful hit and the subsequent break down at the loss of innocence, it was heartbreaking. However Renato comes out of it with a resolve and a drive to be the _best_ , to survive in a world that was already predisposed against him because of something his father did and the fact his mother was long gone.

It was a bit shocking that Skull walked away from Venice with the knowledge that he had won over a boy who would become the World's Greatest Hit Man and the Strongest Sun alive.

On an unrelated note, Skull was rather amused that _he_ was the source of why Reborn always wore that ridiculous hat of his. Handing that tiny Sun the fedora to keep the rain out of his eyes had caused a habit that would stick with Renato for _life_.

(That loyalty would only be cemented the day Skull raged at the Family who took offense to the fact Renato was so much stronger than their Sky and was smart enough to refuse their invitation. Seeing that head of purple hair fighting grown men and _winning_ , all for the sake of someone he barely knew was something that would stay with Renato for the rest of his life.)

* * *

Skull wanted to groan in exasperation, because of course things wouldn't be that simple. It was only instinctive that he look for the familiar feel of their Flames, to lean on them without even thinking twice about it and knowing they would have his back.

Seeing the cold and beaten form of Viper, Skull gently coaxed her to a safe house that was technically Black family property. Safe from the thugs who targeted the tiny Mist that saw too much and heard even more.

Viper quietly whimpered as Skull gently bandaged her bruised and bleeding form without a word. There was no expression of pity, just a quiet empathy. He said nothing as he made a quick meal and shared it with her...unlike Renato she had the sense to eat slowly and allow her stomach to expand.

It wasn't until she found a familiar family crest that she stiffened.

"You're a Black," she said quietly.

Skull looked her dead in the eye.

"I'm the heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Black. The current head is still stuck in Azkaban because it's too soon to free him."

While it hurt, knowing Sirius was suffering the Dementors, the thing that stayed Skull's hand was the fact that there was very little he could do at this moment to get him out without exposing the fact he was no longer with the Dursleys. He had spent far too long and spent too much effort to cover his trail to blow everything by freeing his godfather. That and the knowledge Sirius _survived_ because he knew damn well he was innocent of the crime They claimed he had committed on the Potters until he broke free the moment he had a proper lead on the real culprit kept him from doing anything.

Viper quietly sipped the strawberry milk Skull had given her.

"Why are you helping me? I'm nothing more than a squib. Less than worthless and barely above a muggleborn."

Skull looked her in the eye and said with conviction "You're still _family_. Regardless of whether you can use magic or not, I won't let my own blood suffer. You have every right to call yourself a Black that the full magicals do, and I don't care what people say about the matter. Most new bloods come from squib bloodlines anyway... it's just that the inbreeding problem has gotten so bad that their magical pathways come out damaged."

Viper looked at him, realized he was telling the truth and relaxed.

"And if the adults don't like the fact that I'm reclaiming you, well I have no problem with you claiming the Potter name instead."

Viper stiffened in shock, before she looked at him with wide eyes and registered the scar hidden under his fringe. Realizing that Harry _Potter_ was claiming her as family, despite her inability to use traditional magic shook her to the core.

Mists were ground-based Clouds. The two were so much alike that they either fought like cats and dogs, or they were a well-meshed unit that were nearly impossible to fight against.

Viper wants to cry. She doesn't even think of holding back this instinct when Skull hugs her.

"Welcome home," he whispered into her ear.

Another link in the chain falls into place as he leaves that city, handing over control of the home and the house elves attached to it to a grateful Viper.

Inwardly he wonders if this was going to be a pattern, this gathering of the Arcobaleno before their names are even a whisper across the minds of the Cosa Nostra. Before they become great enough to draw out that fake god out of hiding long enough for the Arcobaleno curse to be applied.

Either way, Viper is more than happy to act as Skull's eyes and ears in the magical enclaves, as he had helped to awaken their Mist flames long enough to mimic magic. With a proper outlet for their core, Viper is well and truly terrifying...but would be utterly loyal to Skull for life so long as he reciprocates in return. After all, Skull was more than happy to help Viper show the fools who cast her out because of her 'lack of magic' just how deadly she could be, even going so far as to help pay for lessons that would allow her to claim the title of "hedgewitch" and at least be able to hold her head up high against the more uptight pure bloods.


	38. Fillies and Colts Chapter One

There was an unspoken rule among the Chaivarone famiglia, and that was to never, ever speak of the young master's mother Lily within his hearing. Everyone loved Dino, and having people remind him of his mother upset him greatly.

Reborn, being the chaotic troll that he was, ferreted out the general story of what happened to Dino's civilian mother within a week and quietly agreed never to bring it up.

Dino's mother had gotten a letter from a trusted school friend in England during the mess that had been going on, and had gone in to help. Only for the fools to decide that since she was a half-way decent fighter and not a pure blood, that they were free to keep her there for as long as necessary, giving her all sorts of excuses and lies to keep her from returning to her very unhappy son.

Dino was unusually in tune with his mother, so when he started bawling one day and refused to quiet down for days, they knew something terrible had happened to the woman.

So when Dino found a note among his paperwork with a name he actually recognized from his mother's few diaries that she left behind, well he decided that now was a perfect time to find out what the hell actually happened to her. After all, Reborn would never let those damn English magicals trap him like they had his poor mother. It wouldn't do for a future mafia boss to be captured by those idiots, after all.

 _In England..._

"Explain to me again why we are going to England to deal with this personally, Stupid-Dino," said Reborn darkly.

"The name on report I got last week was one I recognized. The man in question married my mother's sister and I was hoping she would have some answers as to what happened to her...even if my mother admitted they had lost touch because of that school," said Dino.

Reborn glared at him and Dino shivered. His tutor was going to be extra hellish for dragging him all the way to England over a minor financial discrepancy.

The first thing that Dino thought when he saw his maternal aunt was that he was heartily glad he took more after his father than his mother's family, save for the eyes. He had his mother's eyes.

A fact she took immediate note of.

There was something seriously wrong with this house and Dino was determined to get to the bottom of it come hell or high water. Every instinct in him demanded that he not let a single clue go unchecked and that this trip would have some major surprises for all involved.

A fact that became very apparent when, during the rather tense 'dinner' Dino caught sight of a smaller child trying to duck out of sight. His instincts screamed at him to investigate...he had only been told of the rather oafish son.

Reborn couldn't exactly blame his student for not mentioning their relation to the woman. It was likely she would have tried to use their blood connection to protect her husband or get something out of him. She might suspect something though if the looks she kept giving him were any indication.

"So who is the kid I saw earlier?"

"You mean my son?" asked Vernon nervously. Dino narrowed his eyes at him.

"Unless your son suddenly has red hair and looks several stones lighter before returning to blond and overweight, no," said Dino.

Vernon's eyes belayed something was definitely off as Petunia tried to change the subject, rather unsuccessfully at that.

Dino, however, was tired of playing.

"I will admit, there was a specific reason I came here in person rather than delegate this duty to a subordinate," he said flatly.

Reborn used the distraction to try and find the other child Dino had seen earlier. It didn't take long...it wasn't that big a house after all and he was less than pleased finding the small child in the boot cupboard with a very startled look. The fact that it looked like it had been converted a rather pathetic bedroom did not bode well for the adults in the house.

Dino took one look at the child's eyes (so similar to his own green) before he narrowed his own at Petunia in disgust.

"Who is this, and don't lie to me."

Realizing they had been caught, Petunia didn't try to lie her way out of it.

"My worthless sister's brat. She was dumped on us without asking and we've been stuck with her ever since. We've tried to raise her as a proper girl, but she's slow and clumsy," said Petunia. Her glare did not speak well of what would happen to her niece once they left.

"Oh really?" said Dino, his aura changing entirely. "And what exactly happened to this sister of yours?"

"The stupid fool went and got blown up after marrying that arrogant drunk Potter," spat Petunia.

"I find that interesting, considering my mother was still very much married to my father when her friend called her back to England. Especially considering I know for a fact she only used Potter as a cover," said Dino darkly. "Care to explain who left my _sister_ here with you?"

"Sister?" repeated Petunia dumbly.

"Perhaps I should have properly introduced myself. My name is Dino Chaivarone and my _mother_ was Lily Evans. The only reason I came here in person was because she mentioned her older sister marrying a man by the name of Vernon Dursley in her diaries and I wanted to know exactly what happened to her," said Dino darkly. He was _pissed_.

Reborn was coaxing the little one out of the cupboard. There was a distinct spark of hope in her eyes that had been missing when he found her in there.

"Are you telling me that you're my nephew? Preposterous, Lily never had any other children!" said Petunia.

"Yes, well she did have a lot of help hiding the fact she was pregnant while still in school after a rather drunken night in Italy," said Dino evenly. He shared a look with Reborn. "Perhaps we should discuss a few things in private, away from small ears."

Reborn could safely say that he was very proud of his student right now. Dino was being a good mafia boss and he knew that his foolish student wouldn't _dare_ leave this girl here. Not when he was publicly claiming her as his sister.

Well, half-sister if Reborn was doing the mental math right. She looked to be about the right age for the time period when Dino's mother was more or less tricked into staying in the country.

Dino came out looking darkly pleased with himself, though it brightened when he saw the girl.

"Do you have anything you want to keep?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. She had learned a long time ago that having attachments to anything just made it hurt far worse when they were taken away for her freakishness.

So it was only natural she let out a light "Eep!" in surprise when the blond with familiar green eyes gently picked her up and let her wrap her arms around his neck. He frowned at how light she was.

"Who's this boss?" asked Romario.

"We're going to need to make a side trip in London, just to close up the loose ends," said Dino.

"...Civilian or Other?" asked Romario. He was one of the few who were aware that Dino was a wizard and was only a few exams away from being considered an 'competent adult' in the eyes of the enclaves.

"Other," said Dino.

Romario sighed, to Reborn's quiet surprise.

"I was afraid of that. And here I was hoping we'd avoid them entirely."

Reborn would have started demanding answers, except he was more worried about the girl. Dino had carried her far too easily, and from the frown on his face when he did it was entirely possible she was suffering from neglect on top of the obvious abuse.

The poor thing was far too skinny, wearing clothes that weren't fit for scraps, and was looking entirely like she expected this to be all one very big and cruel joke before her life went straight to hell in a hurry.

* * *

Dino looked at the results in his hand. He was thanking god that the goblin blood tests were far quicker and more accurate than the normal ones. That and they provided a complete ancestry if you paid them.

On one hand, he now had a half-sister that he would be taking home with him. On the other he was heartily cursing the name James Potter, because he was well aware of that bastard's obsession with his mother and this was clear evidence he had taken advantage of her.

He wouldn't take it out on Melody, but if he ever found anyone who helped James ensnare his mother he was going to demonstrate exactly why you don't piss off a student of Reborn.

The next thing he did was file for full custody of his sister... because he was almost sixteen, had passed the equivalent of the Ordinary Wizarding Levels in his home country with high marks, and was the closest blood relative of his younger sibling with magical blood, it only took a few hours for the forms to be filed and made legal. Considering he had been hearing things of "Melody Potter", it was a good thing the goblins were willing to accept the papers for "Melody Evans".

Then again, according to them the "marriage" of Lily Evans to James Potter had never gone through to begin with because she had already been married to a recognized "magical" line and had never taken off her wedding ring. Potter might have filed for it, but he had been too arrogant or stupid to make sure it had gone through when he made everyone believe he had finally gotten the girl he had been after for _years_.

A visit to his mother's vaults cleared up several matters, like why she even agreed to it when she was already married.

Dino's anger towards Potter only went up after reading the part about how she had an 'accident' in the middle of a battle that left her with amnesia. Though she also mentioned how suspicious Remus was of the entire wedding and how he had discreetly asked several very odd questions before quickly dropping it when James started asking questions of his own.

Considering "Remus Lupin" was mentioned in the journals as one of the people who helped to hide the pregnancy, Dino finally had a proper idea of who to ask the hard questions about what happened to his mother. Now to get an owl...

* * *

Melody was still having great difficulty believing how quickly her life had changed around. She had always dreamed of a relative showing up and taking her away from the Dursleys...she never thought it would actually _happen_.

Who would have known she had an older brother, one her mum kept secret from almost everyone?

Dino was clumsy, but he was really sweet and gentle. Even if his home tutor was really weird. Reborn was a little scary, but was actually a softie underneath his dark exterior.

She felt the bed under her move a bit, and snuggled deeper into her brother's side. She had trouble sleeping at night because the bed was so soft and she kept thinking she was dreaming when she woke up. That she would wake up and be back in her cupboard. Dino didn't mind if she used him as a giant teddy bear.

 _Dino POV_

"How is she holding up?" he asked Reborn.

"Children react one of two ways after this sort of thing. They either become submissive and eventually grow up to be victims, or they learn to adapt and come out of it with a strong will to live. Your sister is the latter," said Reborn flatly. "Once we return to Italy the adjustment will come a bit easier... right now she's still in shock you took her away from that house and is expecting to wake up and find herself right back."

"Not happening. Vernon's ruined and Petunia is going to be driven off the deep end even if I have to pay a Mist to do it professionally," said Dino darkly.

Reborn felt so proud of his student at that moment.

"No need for that. I've already called Shamal in to give her a full check up and an idea of what she'll need to make a full recovery. I'm sure he'd be happy to help once he meets her," said Reborn almost cheerfully.

Figures all he needed to properly bond with his foolish student was a proper target and some very strong motivation for a proper mafia-style revenge. Melody was already being a good influence on her brother... Reborn hadn't had to shoot him more than once or twice since they rescued her!

"This is a mess and a half. At least I'll finally get some answers as to what happened to our mother... I got in contact with one of the few people she named specifically that knew she was pregnant while in school."

"So what's the hold up?" asked Reborn. The sooner they were out of England, the happier everyone involved would be.

"There's been some unsubtle inquiries about why my mother's personal vaults have suddenly gone active from someone who has nothing to do with them in the first place. I _know_ she never would have put him on the access list so I have no idea why he's even asking about them."

"He could have put a flag on them," said Reborn.

"That's what I suspect anyway. Fortunately there's no way he's going to take Melody away from me. The paperwork went through so now I'm her legal and magical guardian since I already passed the first exams."

It would become permanent when he turned seventeen and passed the secondary exams, by which point he was considered a legal adult.

"What about her father's accounts?"

"I had them seal it until she either turns fifteen and passes a mandatory amount of magical exams with high marks, or when she reaches her magical majority and graduates. At most she'll be able to use her trust vault, but that's it. Nothing is allowed to go out without going through a lot of red tape, and the only thing I allowed to go freely was general taxes and upkeep expenses. Everything else they're required to give me a head's up first," said Dino. "Not that it really matters since the goblin's apparently gave my mother's personal account a 'Mistress Stipend' when she was 'married' to James."

And considering how well off the Potters were, his mother's vaults had been pretty flush with gold and silver. Likely because she had never bothered to touch them since the accident.

Reborn nodded with open approval. It seemed Dino was _finally_ getting his head on straight as a mafia boss.

Seeing the door open, Dino grinned and bent down so Melody could hug his neck. She seemed to relish in the chance to be carried and hugged, and Dino spoiled her rotten.


	39. Queen's Redemption Chapter One

**In which Lal Mirch is really Regina, the Evil Queen with amnesia. The plot bunny stuck and would not shut up until I wrote it.**

* * *

" _I will destroy your happiness."_

She groaned as the echo of a memory she couldn't place flittered through her head. It had been bugging the hell out of her for _years,_ and recently it kept showing up more and more. She ignored it as she always had and rolled over.

Lal Mirch hated the feeling she got after hearing that sentence echo in her head. It was like she was forgetting something important, something that she shouldn't have forgotten in the first place.

It felt like a great deal of repressed rage and anger was unleashed when that damn curse hit her. Memories slammed into her like a brick to the face, causing her to pass out cold.

* * *

 _Colonello POV_

He was worried. Out of all of them, only Lal was still out cold. She looked like she was having a nightmare or something, and the pacifier around her neck looked all _wrong_. Even Luce, the Sky who had tricked the others into this curse, was confused by this reaction.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"You can do mind walking, right?" he asked the Mist.

"It'll cost you," said Viper.

"I don't care. I'm really worried about her," said Colonello.

"Mu. Very well," said Viper. In truth, they were intrigued by the fact Lal was apparently having a _very_ bad reaction to this curse. She was the only one still unconscious, despite the fact that it had already been three days.

The others weren't showing it, but they were worried as well.

Viper used their Mist to delve into Lal's mind...and came face to face with _two_ women inside it.

One was Lal, looking irritated. The other had all the bearing of a queen. A vengeful queen who looked downright _pissed_ about something.

"Viper?"

"Mu. So this is why you're still out cold. Everyone else has already woken up. Apparently Luce knew this was going to happen and said nothing. We've all be turned into toddlers. So who is this?"

The queen looked irritable, but spoke up. Even her voice had the cultured tone.

" _Call me Regina. When I get my hands on that little bitch I'm going to wring her scrawny neck! It's basic knowledge that mixing curses has dangerous consequences!"_ she fumed.

Viper looked at Lal.

"You were already under a curse?"

"Apparently someone Regina has a major grudge against hit her with a curse right as the she had cast on an area was being put into effect. As a result the memories were hidden...until whatever Luce lured us into happened, and caused the weaker curse to break," said Lal shrugging. "I'm still sorting through the memory dump."

"How much longer are you going to take?"

"It's almost finished," said Lal. "Give me a few hours or so and I should be up, though I am going to give that brat a piece of my mind for pulling this stunt."

Lal had only managed to secure Regina's agreement to let her stay in control by swearing on her life that the _second_ the curse on Snow White broke she would cause visible damage to the brat as a show of her displeasure for that cheap shot. Lal was thinking of punching her so hard in the face that she got a broken nose and a black eye, which seemed to amuse Regina quite a bit.

Apparently Regina found being Lal Mirch "restful" and had been entirely unaware how _exhausting_ maintaining her rage-filled vengeance streak actually _was_. That plus having a childhood without a manipulative bitch of a mother or a passive enabling father (though at least Henry _tried_ to help his daughter move on) had lead to Regina gaining some long-overdue morals.

She still wouldn't hesitate to rip someone's heart out or kill them, but at least now she had something close to resembling mercy.

Both sides did want to at least punch Snow White in the face repeatedly though.

Lal woke up sometime around dinner looking incredibly irritable...which swiftly turned to incredulous and bemused upon registering the state of her companions.

"Have a nice nap?" asked Renato snarkily.

"Fuck off," she shot back without hesitation.

Cora would have been _appalled_. Regina was loving every minute of that fact.

"Any particular reason you had a bad reaction to the curse?" asked Verde.

"I was already _under_ a curse. One I didn't even know was there," said Lal crossly. "Stupid sanctimonious little bitch. When I get my hands on that stupid girl I am going to wring her scrawny neck... everyone knows that mixing curses is an idea only idiots pull! Magic _always_ has a price!"

"Magic doesn't exist," said Verde.

Fon coughed at that, which had everyone looking at him oddly.

"Surely you don't believe this?" said Verde.

"Actually... my clan has a special area where they raise beans that allow one to travel realms. Though it's been cut off until we find out what exactly caused an entire realm's worth of people to suddenly vanish without a trace," he said awkwardly. "The last rumors in the area was that a Queen got really angry with a princess and cast some sort of curse on the place, but it's never been verified."

"If you're talking about the Enchanted Forest, I know what happened to it," said Lal, causing Fon to look at her in shock that she knew what he was talking about. "Though locating where they went is going to be a pain and a half considering I only have a vague idea where they are."

"Enchanted Forest? Like the old fairy tales of Snow White?" asked Luce hopefully.

Lal pulled a face at the name.

"Ugh. Do _not_ mention that spoiled brat around me."

"She's the one who cursed you," said Renato, guessing mostly due to the reaction Lal had.

"Little twit hit me right as the curse was about to envelop us both. Woke up without any memories and in the body of an infant," said Lal in disgust.

"Wait... if you were cursed and ended up in another body, then what was your old name?" asked Colonello confused, but taking it better than she could have hoped.

"Regina," said Lal shrugging. "I prefer being called Lal, if for no other reason than my old name would be a bit too recognizable later."

"I would imagine so, considering the Evil Queen's name was Regina," said Fon dryly. Lal gave him a dirty look. "What did Snow White do to piss you off so much that you went on such a long revenge spree anyway?"

Lal winced.

"I had a boyfriend. The stupid brat went and told my mother about him and my mother killed him because he was one of the servants and not a prince like she wanted. I saw him die right in front of me... and I knew she only found out because Snow was the _only_ person who was aware of the fact we were dating. The idiot was old enough to know that some secrets are supposed to _stay_ secret, and told the worst person possible about it. Then she had the gall to say she did nothing wrong and that I was overreacting," said Lal in annoyance. "Everyone knew Cora is a manipulative bitch... the woman became the Queen of Hearts, for god's sake!"

Renato had an incredulous expression on his face, and the others weren't much better. Out of all of them, only a few looked like they remotely believed her.

Fon (because he had gone to the Enchanted Forest once when he was younger), Colonello (the idiot looked like he was willing to listen, if only because he trusted his commander), and Viper (who had seen Regina in her mind and knew what it was).

Skull and Luce looked like they were on the edge of possibly believing, but the others were highly skeptical and giving her looks like she had a screw loose.

Lal had no idea what to do to prove it to them she wasn't hallucinating...before Regina suggested that maybe a demonstration of actual magic would change their minds.

She couldn't pull out hearts just yet (not enough energy), but something else came to mind.

The trick would be figuring out how to manipulate her magic. For a "Land with No Magic", it sure as hell wasn't living up to the hype. Or perhaps magic had been mistaken for Flames.

Either way if she was right, the Viper and Verde were going to have a field day with experimenting with it.

It took her five hours to get even a spark of her old powers, and she quickly realized that the main trouble she had was the _way_ she used it.

Regina had used her hatred and pain to fuel her magic. Most of her spells had come from that source, which might explain why she had such trouble letting things go.

Lal on the other hand, had to find a new source. She had blushed when an image of Colonello in his real form caused a spark to ignite and she had to come to terms with the fact that as much as he vexed her with his antics, she did genuinely _like_ him as more than just a student. Using that along with her knowledge of Dying Will Flames (and unconsciously tapping into her Mist Flame), and she was able to at least make a decent sized fireball.

Well, she knew one way to prove magic was real and get the others to believe. Fireballs were easy enough to explain...but instant teleportation?

That was a much more difficult pill to swallow.

* * *

 _A week later..._

Verde was swearing, Viper looked intrigued, and Renato looked like someone had literally slapped him silly with a fish.

Lal just looked smug while Colonello was clearly convinced she wasn't lying.

"And you say this sort of trick is normal?" said Viper.

"Once I figure out how it works, I'll show you how to do it too. Small magic like that is easy and harmless... it's the big stuff you have to be leery of because it almost always comes back to bite you in the ass in someway," said Lal. "Pretty sure the teleport runs on some Mist flames, so you should be able to figure out quickly enough."

Viper looked rather gleeful hearing that. The sheer amount of money they would save alone on transportation between countries was more than enough incentive for them to learn.

"So what are you planning to do now?" asked Renato.

"Find my old teacher...though we'll have to wait until the curse I cast is broken before he's really useful. However that's going to take _years_ since I highly doubt I'll be able to fill the requirements needed to pull it off," said Lal immediately. "Once I locate the area, I'll contact the rest of you. I see no reason why we need to be so scattered after what _someone_ pulled."

The pointed look at Luce was pretty damn telling who she meant.

"I would be interested in seeing the effects," said Fon, surprising the rest. Most would have thought Verde would have spoken first. "That and I know my clan would be very favorable to continuing several old friendships with the people there. I never did track down the woman I was looking for."

Fon, upon learning that Mulan was in fact an actual person living in another realm, had always wanted to meet her in person. And possibly get an autograph.

Besides, the Enchanted Forest had _dragons_. How was he supposed to say no to seeing a real, live dragon in person?

"Actually I think Verde would be interested in staying there. I know for a fact Frankenstein was transported by the curse as well," said Lal.

"Frankenstein. As in the fictional mad scientist who supposedly brought a corpse to life," said Verde deadpan.

"From what I heard he was trying to resurrect his older brother," said Lal with a straight face. "Just think, you could have all the fun of trying to recreate spells and rendering the use of them pointless with technology!"

"...I hate you. So very, very much," said Verde with a pained expression.

He detested the unscientific nature of magic. Flames were _barely_ tolerable in his opinion.

* * *

It took Lal three long years to find the area where the curse settled. During that time the others had more or less drifted apart to do their own thing.

All of them save for Luce had come running when she said she found the town. In the spirit of scientific discovery and to hopefully prove the woman wrong that magic existed, Verde had "volunteered" Skull to go past the boundary line Lal had made a note of when she finally found it.

Skull had yelped for all of two seconds before it happened.

One second he was picking himself up off the ground from where Verde had more or less tossed him past the boundary.

The next he was rapidly _growing_ until he was back in his original size, though the pacifier was still firmly around his neck.

Staring dumbly at his own hands, with the others not far behind him, the rest of the Arcobaleno were quick to walk past the ward line only to find themselves rapidly returning to their true size.

Everyone save for Lal, who had a more _extreme_ reaction to the curse that surrounded the town.

Parts of her features merged with the woman she had been, as she filled out into her adult size. Her hair which had been a raven black became more of an ebony color that was tamed around her face and was a bit curvier. Her modest bust got an upgrade as did her hips, and her nose shifted shape slightly. Her eyes slightly changed as well, though the color stayed the same.

In short while the changes were minor, they were still noticeable enough that someone could claim a case of mistaken identity if they saw her.

"That...was annoying," said Lal once she got used to her new body.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Viper intently.

"I told you, mixing curses leads to unexpected results. There's a reason why it's a major no-no if you have a brain. If what I suspect is true, then I'm betting the wards around this town are interfering with whatever is keeping us the size of toddlers in the first place," said Lal.

Luce had reluctantly explain the parts of the curse she _did_ know about, which was limited. Mostly because Lal had told her point blank exactly why her mother in another life had earned the moniker of "Queen of Hearts".

The curse didn't actually turn them into children, just shrink them to that size, they wouldn't age past where they were at when it was applied and were not likely to get sick unless hit with something specially designed to harm Arcobaleno. Also there was no known way of _removing_ said curse that she knew of...just that it was necessary to maintain the stability of the world and the Flames on it.

When they entered the town (discreetly) several things hit them at once.

One, the place was _seriously_ dated.

Two, there was a sense of 'agelessness' and 'time standing still', to the point that the clock tower was perpetually frozen. Verde discreetly checked it, and it was perfectly functional but _something_ kept the gears from moving past where it was.

Three, everyone _recognized_ Lal and called her "Madam Mayor", despite the fact she had never been there before in her life. It had taken a great deal of self control not to punch Snow in the face when she recognized her.

Lal sank into her apparent house and promptly hit the liquor cabinet.

"That... was surreal and very uncomfortable," she said flatly.

"What the hell is with this place?" asked Renato. "It's like something out of the roaring 20's or possibly thirties."

"I believe part of that is because most of the interaction the Enchanted Forest had with this world happened during that time. Travel was more or less cut off during the World Wars and the curse hit sometime around the fifties," said Fon.

"Sounds about right," said Lal.

"And the whole 'madam Mayor' thing?" said Viper.

"I wasn't expecting that mousy little brat to hit me with a damn _curse_ at the worst possible time," said Lal annoyed. "And I did like being in charge."

"What's the deal with the clock tower? By all accounts the thing should work, but it's stuck," said Verde.

"The curse I hit them with is very specific. That thing isn't going to move until Snow White's child shows up and starts the countdown... they are the only one who can break the curse, and I know I saw that stupid twit sending her newborn here. Magic would protect them from the worst, if nothing else."

"Snow White had kids?" said Renato, accepting the bourbon.

"Right before the curse hit," confirmed Lal. "Didn't see the gender though. I do know Charming is almost certainly in a coma, considering he was bleeding out as the curse hit. Can't exactly remember where I stashed Belle though... I'm going to need her in order to hopefully earn some points with my old teacher. Don't know what he saw in the mousy little bookworm."

Renato rubbed his face in exasperation.

"You mean to tell me _Beauty and the Beast_ was real too?"

"Most fairy tales are generally from that land," Fon informed him. "Though some tales are in realms of their own, like Oz and Wonderland."

"Great."

"Well if the curse that keeps us as toddlers is partially negated by this place..." said Viper thoughtful.

Lal snorted.

"If you want to crash here, I have no objections. And as _Mayor_ I can come up with cover identities for you to use. Fon, for instance could open up a restaurant or something because the only decent one I saw in town belongs to Red Riding Hood's grandmother," said Lal.

Renato and Verde made pained noises.

"So what, the big bad wolf is real too?"

"From what I saw the Huntsman is the town sheriff, and it wasn't that Red encountered a wolf...but she can turn into one," said Lal enjoying their misery far too much.

"...Exactly how well stocked is that liquor cabinet of yours?" asked Renato dead serious.

"Enough to get black out drunk, so have fun," she shot back.

"Believe me, I intend to," said Renato darkly, with Verde following soon after.


	40. It's in the Cards Chapter One

**I had far too much amusement writing this...especially the parts when the mystery duo appear, one of which was cursed to carry Yue as punishment for stealing the Book of the Clow in the first place. XD**

* * *

It had been such a perfectly ordinary day.

And then a heavy hard back book hit her _hard_ on the head.

Bending down to pick it up, she looked around for where it could have fallen. It was a very pretty book with a bright red cover and a really handsome lion-creature with wings on the front. The trim and title were in gold and had a strange clasp on the side. It was nicer than any of the other books she owned, but that was to be expected when her bullies liked to damage her things.

Hotaru Sawada walked home and went straight to her room. Her mother wasn't home today either, likely dragged off by her friends to get her to 'live a little' with little to no regard of the fact she had a daughter at home.

She didn't particularly _like_ her mother's friends.

She was just coming back from getting a snack when she heard it. Someone or something was _snoring_ clear as day. In her room. When there was no one else in the house.

Cautiously, she opened the door... to find nothing. The book was still on her desk, her battered school bag on the bed.

She slowly put down the snack on her dresser, and looked around. Eventually her eyes landed once more on the odd book that had nearly brained her earlier. She picked it up to see if she could find a speaker of some sort to explain the sound of someone snoring.

Except the second she picked it up more than a few inches off the desk, there was a distinct "click" sound from the side...and the clasp came undone.

As she slowly opened it, she couldn't help but be struck by the elegant beauty of the odd cards inside. Several of them caught her eye, especially the one that looked like it was on fire.

Without even realizing it, she had four cards in her left hand to look at better and a fifth in her right to try and read. Her English wasn't that great, but it was passable enough to just barely make out what the card said.

"W-win... dy. Windy?" she read slowly, sounding out the word first.

Instinctively she held onto the cards in her hand tightly as a sudden gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, blowing the other cards everywhere. Oddly, she when she was able to open her eyes she couldn't _see_ any of them. Just the five in her hands.

As if her day couldn't get any weirder, the snoring she had heard before stopped. Instead there was a bone-cracking yawn as something seemed to wake up. The cover of the book glowed as the lion-creature slowly faded and a sort of teddy bear thing emerged in it's place.

Hotaru was beyond confused and more than a little alarmed as the thing actually _spoke_. With an Osaka accent of all things.

"GAH! Where are the cards?!" said the bear thing.

"Um... do you mean these?" she asked, holding out the ones she had in her hand when the gust appeared.

"Yeah... where are the rest?"

"I was looking at the card at the top part and tried to sound out what it said on the bottom. A huuuuge gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew them away, except for these," she said sheepishly.

"Oh, is that all," said the bear easily... before he went into total freak out mode. "THEY WHAT?!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know that would happen! The book just fell on me an hour ago and opened up on it's own!" said Hotaru upset. This was just her luck... of course the school's "dame" would cause a massive mess just by reading something.

The bear seemed to sense her mood, because he stopped looking so freaked out and looked a little closer to empathetic.

"There, there..." he said, floating to her head and patting her head, stopping her sniffles. "It can't be helped... though I have to wonder what Clow was thinking putting Windy of all things on the top! At least you managed to hold on to some of the more troublesome cards when she activated!"

In Hotaru's hands were Windy, Time, Sword, Dash and of all things, Firey. Sword and Dash were a hassle, but easy to manage... but Time and Firey would have been no end of trouble to put back in the book...especially Firey.

"I was admiring the pictures when it happened. I really like the fire one though," she admitted. "And the old man with the hourglass is too cool."

Keroberos wondered how Firey would react if she knew she had a fan. Be funny when she came out.

"Well since the rest were scattered, I suppose we have no choice. You're going to have to find and collect them before they cause too much trouble."

Hotaru had a bad feeling about that.

"Trouble?"

"The Clow Cards have a mind of their own, and without a master or mistress to reign them in they can cause all sorts of damage and havoc. Take Sword for instance! If you hadn't managed to hold onto it, it could have attached to some poor sap and made them go completely berserk while holding a bladed weapon! Or Firey, who has always been temperamental, she could have caused fires to spark all over the place!" said Keroberos.

It took him a minute to register the rising panic levels of the poor kid who had unleashed the cards. He caught several odd phrases, like 'bitten to death' and 'he is going to be so mad about this'.

The Sun Guardian couldn't help but wonder who the girl was _that_ afraid of, if the thought of the cards causing trouble immediately brought someone specific to mind in terms of punishment. And what it had to do with being "bitten to death".

"Well, what will you do? If the cards aren't collected a disaster will befall the world...they're really powerful and in the wrong hands..."

"Um... how do I collect the cards?" she asked timidly.

"Cheer up! If the book opened, that means you must have enough magical power to be able to use the cards properly! It wouldn't have picked just anyone!" said Keroberos, trying to bolster her confidence level. He could tell she desperately needed it.

Keroberos pointed at a relatively clean spot on the floor... Windy's stunt had caused a bit of a mess.

"Stand here," he said simply. "What's your name?"

Hotaru did, wondering what was going to happen now, before replying "Hotaru Sawada."

"Pretty name," said Keroberos, which made her perk up a little bit. "Key of the Seal, here stands one who wishes to enter into a contract with thee. A girl named Hotaru. Key, the girl stands before you, Release!"

The odd key-shaped pendant started to become much bigger.

"Hotaru-chan, take the staff!"

Without thinking too hard about it, she grabbed the middle of the staff which settled into her hands. She felt something _latch_ onto a power she could only vaguely remember in her dreams...back before she became the "no-good, useless" girl in school. When she could still remember being warm and clear headed and things were better.

Keroberos preened.

"Ta-da! It's the birth of a Card Captor!" he said cheerfully.

"HIE?!"

* * *

 _Two hours later..._

"Kaa-san, I found this odd animal wandering around our house. Can I keep him?" asked Hotaru with wide eyes.

"How adorable! You'll have to take good care of it, okay Taru-kun?" said Nana without even thinking too hard about it.

Keroberos, or "Kero-chan" as Hotaru had decided to call him, stared at her in disbelief.

"Seriously? Just like that?" he said to Hotaru without thinking.

"Oh it talks too! How cute!" said Nana.

Kero face-planted on the table.

"Told you she wouldn't bat an eye," said Hotaru setting the table.

"I thought you were joking," he hissed at her so her mother wouldn't hear. "And what's with 'Taru-kun'?"

"I wear mostly boy clothing. I think she's honestly forgotten she had a daughter since my father wanted a son and not me," she replied back in a voice that said she had long since come to terms with this fact, even if it still hurt. "Because of the complications of my birth, she can't have any more kids."

Kero winced hearing that.

"At least you won't have to hide around the house. Mama won't really pay much attention so long as you don't cause too much a ruckus."

Kero perked up at that.

"What about when your friends come over?"

Hotaru flinched.

"I... don't have any friends."

Ouch.

He was promptly distracted by dinner, and Nana was perfectly content to ignore the fact there was a floating bear-thing in her home that talked in an Osaka-accent that her child had decided to keep as an odd sort of pet.

* * *

"What do you mean you _dropped_ it?!"

"I didn't even realize it was gone until I made it here."

"You mean to tell me that you let something that disruptive to the peace of _my_ territory loose?!"

A shudder.

"It seems the Guardian that was attached to the book has awakened and chosen his candidate."

"They're _loose?!_ Annoying carnivore I will bite you to death for letting those things out here! You know once those pathetic herbivores catch wind of the fact _they_ are here that they'll send someone!" hissed the other voice.

"Relax. As the one who caused this mess, I am obligated to stay around and insure that the cards are properly collected and the Final Judgment is properly completed."

"You're _staying_?!" said the first voice horrified and beyond pissed. "Annoying carnivore, for causing this mess I will bite you to death!"

"Bring it on, nephew," said the second voice cheekily.

No more words were said as the first voice vented their anger and annoyance at the situation by trying to cave the skull in of the second voice. Not that he managed it, but still.

* * *

Kero was trying very hard not to cackle. The first time Hotaru-chan had used Firey and Time, the two had actually looked embarrassed and rather pleased that she had managed to hold onto them and not one of their siblings. Firey had actually _blushed_ when her new mistress had called her pretty!

Dash had happily settled in her lap, looking every bit the content rabbit. And Sword seemed to pick up on something in the town, because it looked almost disappointed it couldn't go out and explore. It perked up when Hotaru found out it could turn into a pendant... she didn't mind if the card wanted to hang out of it's standby form by staying on her collar. At least until it found out what had caught it's interest.

Not even Clow humored his cards this much... he treated them more like his children than anything.

Kero was both happy that the cards had found such a kind, gentle person to latch onto...and openly seething about things he couldn't change even though he really, really wanted to.

He had thought Hotaru was just a shy, gentle soul with a low amount of self confidence that needed a little encouragement to succeed. The first time he congratulated her over capturing her first card without causing too much damage, she had smiled so brightly it was like looking into the sun!

Then he followed her to school and had to hold himself back from ripping the idiots around her a new one.

On an unrelated note he finally found out why she was so concerned about being 'bitten to death'. Finding out he was firmly in the Hibari clan's territory under the protection of a particularly territorial Cloudy Mist teen with a penchant for violence had come as a nasty shock.

Fortunately his Mistress had no contact with that boy...she only went to the same school and the most this "Kyouya" had done to her for being late was give her a light thump on the head and a warning.

That had honestly been the _kindest_ interaction Hotaru had the entire school day.

She was being actively bullied and harassed by her classmates who seemed to take particular enjoyment in targeting her. And it wasn't _just_ the students who got into it... he had counted no less than four teachers who went after her specifically during class and then put her down when she couldn't answer the question correctly.

Not a single one bothered to encourage her at all. In fact some of the snide comments had really pissed Kero off.

So yeah, he wasn't going to comment on the fact she took comfort in the cards around her. And if _he_ was livid, then they were beyond angry at the abuse their Mistress was put through on a daily basis.

And he had wondered why she was so timid. He was of the firm opinion that being the Card Captor would be good for her... capturing them and growing her collection of 'friends' would only bolster her limited self confidence.

"So what's the deal with that Hibari kid?" he asked, trying to make small talk. In his opinion this town was the worst possible environment for the gentle girl.

Hotaru perked up.

"Hibari-sempai runs the Disciplinary Committee. He's a bit scary at times, but he's actually a lot nicer than people think."

"Nice?" said Kero incredulous.

"He only really goes after the meaner bullies that target the other students simply because they're bigger or have some form of influence. He never really hurts students like me who just try to keep our heads down in school. If we're late the most he does is give us a little minor bruising and a stern reprimand to be on time."

"'Minor bruising'?" repeated Kero incredulous.

"Considering some of my previous bullies left me with sprained or broken bones before he cracked down on that sort of thing, and the worst I have to deal with is the snide comments and a few disruptive pranks..." shrugged Hotaru. "Our school is honestly safer than most of the others in town because Hibari has a zero- tolerance for bullies and 'fake carnivores' in his words. It's the only reason I even bother to go to school, because I know he'll go after anyone that tries anything too serious in a heartbeat the second he finds out about it...and his people are always patrolling the grounds."

"And the 'bite to death' thing?" asked Kero. It wasn't good, but it was far better than he feared. It seemed this kid was big on maintaining the peace and order of the area, rather than dominating everyone like he expected.

"Everyone has their quirks," shrugged Hotaru. "Besides, he only really challenges people who actually _have_ some skill in fighting."

Kero relaxed at that. From the sound of things and the limited information he had gathered during the past three days since waking up, this Hibari Kyouya was an honorable sort, one who was in dire need of a proper opponent he could match himself with. However he wasn't so desperate that he went after those weaker than him...instead he seemed to take on the role of a protective lone wolf, keeping the area safe for the smaller, weaker animals in his territory like Hotaru.


	41. Love Finds a Way Chapter One

**A Ladybug/KHR fic where Lal is Marinette with amnesia and Colonello is Adrien hiding from his fans and looking for his Ladybug. XD**

* * *

For as long as she could remember, it felt like there was a gaping hole in her heart. A hole that lead directly to the memories that she had lost in the accident. Lal could only vaguely remember what happened...most of it was a blur of shock, confusion and then a sharp pain in her head.

Whatever had happened, the accident on that path lead to a very different direction in her life.

If it wasn't for the old soldier who saved her after he found her unconscious body at the bottom of the hill, she might not have made it out of that forest alive. And hearing his stories of his life traveling the world, fighting alongside his comrades had sparked something in her. So much so that she went to the first military base she could find that accepted people without any proper identification and limited ability to speak Italian.

COMSUBIN didn't care that she had no memories of who she was, though apparently they had been impressed that she spoke two languages and was a very hard worker who didn't complain about getting dirty.

Enough so that they let her sign up on a probationary contract. Within three years she had risen from a complete civilian to one of the best trainers on base. Even if her students all considered her a demon trainer, it was definitely out of love.

Or so they claimed, in between joking about her nonexistent love life...which usually set her off into sending them on long, boring as hell runs around the worst areas in the base for hours on end.

On an unrelated note, the number of assaults on base dropped like a stone after Lal started sending her students to certain areas of the base that were less patrolled on their runs. Considering she had a habit of doing "Surprise Runs" when they were trying to sleep, no one wanted to be caught by one of her students.

Coincidentally all the females on the base considered Lal their unofficial hero/role model. Thanks to her the base was just a little bit safer to walk semi-alone at night for the girls.

Lal stretched and let out a loud yawn. There was a new influx of trainees coming in later today and as one of the top trainers she got to pick her personal bitc...er, _student_.

Generally she stuck with the girls, since it meant they could hide in her room and avoid being harassed by some of the more idiotic men.

However that also went hand in hand with them being turned into her personal errand girl (or boy) and getting extra training on top of that.

Looking at the current stock of rookies, she despaired of finding anyone that would last the entire year with her...until she saw him.

Bright green-blue eyes, golden hair that looked windswept and looking distinctly uncomfortable with the amount of staring going on. He was tanned as if he spent a lot of time outdoors and could have been a model with those looks.

Something in the back of her head told her he was joining the military to get _away_ from modeling... it was pretty damn hard for fangirls to sneak onto a military base and not get busted almost immediately. Why that thought came to her, she had no idea, but the fact was that no one else was even remotely giving the blond man a second look.

It wasn't until later she found out _why_.

"You're kidding. The guy's a professional model and he's joining us?" said Lal over drinks. She had to make a list of potential assistants before the end of the week, but she kept going back to the blond.

"Apparently he was forced into it by his dad and got tired of all the tabloids speculating about his love life after his girlfriend went missing. We're closed off enough that his fans can't bother him and the press can't get within a mile of him," laughed Ricardo. "Said he'd rather spend a few years learning something useful and let the heat die down before he even remotely considered going back into the civilian population."

Lal couldn't help her snort of amusement.

"Let me guess, he's using an alias to boot."

"Got it in one," said Giovanni. "He picked the first Italian sounding name he could find and the higher ups allowed it so long as he's one of us. Calls himself Colonello, if you can believe it."

"Well as long as he can put in the work and doesn't complain like a pansy, I don't care what his past is," said Lal.

"Someone sounds interested in our new pretty boy," grinned Ricardo.

"You know my policy. I don't date my students...besides, when have I ever let looks sway my opinion of my dates?" she shot back.

"Point. So you're interested in taking him on as your personal bitch for a year?"

"Seriously considering it... none of the others have even remotely caught my interest and I have the feeling this guy is going to surprise all of us."

Colonello looked shocked, then relieved when he heard he was slated as the "personal student" of one of the trainers. That is, until he found out which one.

The expression on his face made Lal want to laugh her ass off. It was pretty clear what his thought process was if he had joined COMSUBIN to get _away_ from his adoring fans and the press.

She did so later in the privacy of her room, but she managed to keep from laughing at his face.

* * *

Colonello was in his own private hell. Out of all the trainers on the base, why did it have to be the only _female_ one who picked him?

About the only good thing out of it was that she was at least professional and didn't treat him special because of his looks. He hated that.

"Why so glum?" asked Fred.

"Why did I get stuck with the one girl trainer on base?" he asked.

"...You do realize that you were lucky to be picked in the first place, right? Most of the other trainers took one look at your resume and wanted nothing to do with you," he said slowly.

"Seriously?"

"You're lucky... out of all the girls on the base, the demon trainer is probably the only one who wouldn't take advantage of you. According to what I've heard of her, she pushes her personal bitches... I mean _students..._ extra hard and refuses to date her students. Survive her and you could survive damn near anything," said Fred sagely.

Colonello almost felt relief hearing that.

"There's also an unofficial rumor that she makes her students take runs on random areas of the base, and the girl love her for it."

"Why?"

"It's not really _talked_ about, but there's an unofficial statistic for harassment and assault when it comes to the female soldiers. I've heard a few bastards who try to take advantage of the girls got busted because the Captain sent her students on a surprise run in the middle of the night and they stumbled across it. So only the really stupid try it anymore, at least on base. Last I heard they only got a reprimand for beating the shit out of the idiots they caught."

Seeing the look on the blond's face, Fred patted him on the back.

"I've heard the girl all call Lal Mirch their 'Lucky Charm' because she's making the base safer for them without doing it intentionally. I swear she has god's luck or something with how often she's in the right place at the right time to help others."

"Isn't the usual phrase the devil's own luck?" asked Colonello.

"Considering her luck in love, everyone agrees that for some reason her luck benefits everyone else and only comes back to her as an after thought. Apparently she had a lucky charm as a kid but lost it in the accident."

Colonello was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion build up in his mind.

"What sort of accident?"

"No idea. Only heard a vague rumor that she lost her memories when she was traveling a few years ago, and ended up joining the first chance she had. Been here at least four or five years now," shrugged Fred. "No one is dumb enough to ask, because she gets really unhappy about it and makes the life of anyone who's stupid enough to bring it up into a living hell. It's worse than whenever another guys fails whatever mysterious standard she has for her dates."

That suspicion started to solidify in his mind. Now he just needed to see if he was right.

After a month (which shocked everyone that he didn't quit within the first week of Lal's "special" training) Colonello decided to implement the first part of his plan to see if Lal Mirch was who he thought she was.

He used one of his corniest cat-puns when she was within earshot, and to his surprise and secret relief her head whipped around to look at him in shock.

"That was absolutely horrible," complained Fred.

"What can I say, I love cats. Especially black ones. Can't stand birds though...damn feathers make me sneeze something awful," admitted Colonello. "I have this one cat that loves this god-awful stinky cheese and gets real testy if he doesn't get it."

"Too bad you can't bring pets on the base."

"Nah, I got that covered. Someone's taking care of him until I can get an apartment near the base once the training period is over."

Which was only partially true, not that he'd tell them that.

"Still don't know how you get away with wearing that bulky ring."

"Considering some of the crap I've seen the other rookies try to sneak in and the fact I never take it off, the higher ups generally ignore it," shrugged Colonello.

Someone wearing a bulky ring wasn't something that the higher ups were going to comment on unless it became a problem. And Colonello always put it around his neck if he had to do something finicky with his hands, so it never became an issue in the first place.

In all honesty it was harder to hide Plagg, but he had toned down his behavior since Tikki was forced to go dormant. Without Marinette she couldn't sustain the magic that allowed her to be out and about.

The only reason the earrings hadn't returned to the keeper was because Marinette hadn't died, but was simply missing. The Ladybug Earrings could only bond to one person at a time, and until Marinette was no longer alive she was the only one who could use them.

What Hawkmoth didn't find out until after they had beaten him was that his Kwami had only given him a half-truth about the two most powerful Miraculous. While they could be drained, their full power was only accessible to the people they were bonded to.

Still, out of the base only Lal seemed to find Colonello's absolutely _horrible_ cat puns even remotely amusing...even if she did generally slap him on the back of the head for it.

* * *

 _Lal POV_

Colonello was _infuriating_ , and the worst part was that she couldn't take it out on him outside of the less than gentle headslaps because he wasn't doing anything wrong.

Everything about him seemed to scrape her soul raw, and her head was always killing her after a training session or whenever he used those absolutely terrible cat-puns. It felt like she had found the other half of her soul after being lost for so long...and she had no idea why.

More to the point, she had to resist the urge to speak in _French_ of all things when everyone around them was speaking Italian.

Colonello was a hard worker, very dedicated and didn't complain about the relatively light headslaps she gave him. Admittedly, she pulled her strength by quite a bit for reasons she never understood, but that was beside the point.

"Someone totally has a crush on her student," teased Gabriella.

"I do not!" protested Lal embarrassed. She didn't know _what_ she felt about her student, but it wasn't anything as simple as a mere crush.

"You totally do! You're always checking him out when you think he's not looking and you actually hold back when you reprimand him, unlike the other guys. I think you should go for it once the probationary period is up."

"I don't date my students," said Lal automatically.

"He won't be your student in six more months," Alyss pointed out smugly.

"Have you _seen_ my track record?" said Lal miserably.

The patted her on the back. Part of the reason Lal could never hold a man was that she seemed to always come on too strong or too forcefully and drove them off. It was almost like she deliberately set herself up for disappointment when it came to the dating scene and none of the men she dated were ever brave enough to get under her tough as nails exterior.

Colonello, it seemed was immune to the wall of thorns that was dating Lal Mirch. He not only took the hits but he kept coming back for more...with his absolutely terrible cat puns in tow. Just hearing them made everyone groan, but it was a lesser evil compared to some of the quirks the other soldiers had.

Even if he seemed to be looking for something specific in his teacher, no one bothered to ask. As far as anyone could guess he just had a major crush on the woman since she was one of the rare few who treated him like everyone else and not someone special because of his modeling career.

(You could almost _hear_ the groaning of his fan base and the reporters when word got out where he was and that they wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the base in question...and if Colonello happened to jump at wilderness runs to avoid any potential stalkers, well no one was about to comment on it.)

"So what are you doing for your birthday?" asked Gabriella.

"Same thing I do every year. Go out and get completely plastered with my close friends before crashing and then making the trainees see hell for a few days until the hangover passes."

Trainees all hated it whenever Lal Mirch had an excuse to get drunk enough to suffer a hangover. But not as much as when it was 'that time of the month'. She always seemed to take dark pleasure in making everyone suffer with her and spread the misery.

But she wasn't completely heartless. If they looked like they couldn't handle most of what she generally dished out she gave them something boring that wasn't too taxing to let them recover... like peeling potatoes for the mess hall or other boring duties no one particularly enjoyed.

"Well hopefully your potential lover-boy will come up with something extra romantic for you," said Alyss giggling.

"Yeah right. Every guy I've gone out with has either gone the sappy route, or tries to woo me like some sort of warrior maiden. It's ridiculous," scoffed Lal.

A week later on her birthday, she wasn't the least bit surprised to find a small present waiting for her in her personal box. Most of her friends tended to give her their gifts right before they left to get drunk, which left only a few people who would bother to deliver it to her box.

Her chief suspect was her student though. Probably trying to butter her up to avoid the extra training. She knew he would have heard rumors of her habits whenever she was hungover.

So imagine her surprise finding a small, hand-made cake with a simple "Happy Birthday" that was in the shape of a ladybug. Taking a small bite of the treat, she was completely caught off guard by the strange sense of pure nostalgia at the taste. Almost like she had eaten it often enough before for her to recognize the maker purely by the taste alone.

It felt like home and warm hugs and a sense of loss that seemed to stem from her missing memories.

It took her a few moments to register the fact she was crying before she hurriedly wiped away the tears. Almost like she was desperately homesick and missed someone important in her life.

As if that wasn't enough, there was a second smaller box under the one that held a cake.

It was a sketchpad and a professional kit for artists that was very popular with those who liked to design fashion. Alongside that was a basic sewing kit, some rather attractive (if small) fabric samples, thread and a small pair of scissors that folded into themselves.

Lal stared at the rather odd present and the feeling of nostalgia and homesickness hit her harder than ever.

How in the _hell_ did that idiot student of hers know she liked fashion? She always taped fashion week and would privately critique the 'outfits' that went on display. Honestly, there was no accounting for taste when it came to some of those ridiculous designs.

Colonello was one of the few already up when she woke up from her nap to make the trainee's lives hell.

"How was your birthday?"

"You. How in the hell did you know I like fashion?" she demanded.

Colonello blinked.

"Overheard one of the other trainers mentioning you always taped fashion week," he said. Which wasn't _entirely_ true, as he was mostly making a guess based on his suspicions, but he had heard someone making a comment to that effect at one point.

"Really. You happen to hear I like to watch fashion week and for some reason decided to anonymously deliver a professional sketchpad, pencils and that small sewing kit?" she said openly skeptical.

"That was actually a lucky hunch. It was harder getting the cake here on time," admitted Colonello. "Especially considering the owners of the bakery generally close down on that particular day."

Mostly because it was their missing daughter's birthday.

Lal continued to give him odd looks, even as she was making everyone else very miserable. Colonello merely laughed when she pelted him with potato peelings for making one of his horrible puns... at the suggestion of the others he had started to branch out a bit and was considered even _worse_.


	42. Fiery Frost Chapter One

For as long as he could remember, he had three constants in his life.

The cold, the Wind and the loneliness.

He had learned to love the cold and the way it allowed him to throw snow balls at people, and the wind was one of the only beings that actually listened to what he had to say and even talked to him.

But the loneliness? That he never really got used to.

Then a miracle happened, though it hadn't seemed like that at the time.

Pitch Black returned and was able to give the Guardians a run for their money! He almost won too, except Jack had managed to beat him back using Fun instead of Fear.

He was an official Guardian now! That should have meant something, right?

Apparently the fact he was now an official Guardian of children didn't mean squat. They still ignored him, but it was so much worse now because he had a taste of what having friends was like for the first time in centuries and they were deliberately putting off being around him, claiming they were too busy. Even when he picked times when it would be more convenient to hang out, they still ignored him.

It hurt. It hurt so much that it wasn't even _funny_.

Out of all the Guardians, only Jack actually kept up his promise to visit the children who had managed to retain their belief.

Finally Jamie (the lone child who still believed enough to see Jack at all) had enough of seeing his friend so miserable.

"I think you need a fresh start Jack. This entire situation is killing you inch by inch and none of them have realized the damage it's doing to your 'center' as you call it."

Jack blinked. Now that Jamie mentioned it, he had found himself feeling somewhat off of late. His center was 'fun', and bringing light and laughter to children everywhere with a little mischief and light pranks.

And yet now it only felt like he was going through the motions.

"You might have a point," he conceded. "Maybe I really do need a fresh start."

So as he gazed up at MiM, he put to words exactly how miserable he was and why he couldn't take this anymore.

He would have been fine acting as Jack Frost, solitary spirit and mischief maker. Except the Guardians had made him think he could be part of a team, and then decided with the threat over they didn't need to pay any attention to him at all. After all, what did _he_ know about being a Guardian when he wasn't as tied up as they were?

MiM was silent, at first.

 _Are you sure you want this? You may not become a Guardian if you go through with this._

Jack openly scoffed.

"If being a Guardian means only paying attention to each other during times of crisis and having such a disconnect with the very children we're supposed to be protecting, then I don't care anymore for it!" said Jack flatly.

The others were so out of touch outside of times of danger that it was painful. And every attempt Jack made to get their attention or spend actual time with one another failed so dismally he had given up. Sure they got together every once in a while, but Jack had no idea of the little signals they had for each other and often _missed_ those get togethers...and then Bunny would get on his nerves because no one told him _anything._

And the less said about their ability to actually handle being around children, the better. They barely managed to deal with Sophie during the whole mess with Pitch!

MiM seemed to sigh in his head.

 _Very well. I shall give you back your mortality and at the end of it you can decide whether you want to be Jack Frost once more or move on. Knowing you, the Wind will still be at your side regardless._

Jack could only feel a sense of relief as he felt _warmth_ in his body that came from having a beating heart once more. He didn't care that he was obviously being put into the body of an infant. Anything had to be better than _this_.

It would be several years before the Guardians realized Jack had gone missing, and by then it would be far too late to do anything about it.

* * *

Tsuna was an adorable child. Everyone seemed to naturally gravitate towards him, and he was quite mischievous. His father wasn't really around, but his mother doted on him without hesitation.

Then everything changed the day his father brought home a strange old man that Tsuna tried to avoid on instinct. There was something wrong about him that Tsuna didn't like at all. Then again he really didn't like his father much either.

It was as he was climbing up a tree to get the little ball his mother had given him last week that it happened. There was the sensation of falling, and a feeling of _heat_ that felt...odd, yet at the same time right.

So he was quite unhappy when the old man went to take the heat away. He knew that was wrong but didn't know _why_ it was wrong.

Well if they didn't like the heat, then perhaps they would like the cold better?

Before he had a chance to test that theory, the old man tapped his head with that weird fire and he felt something slam down on the heat inside him, forcing it to almost disappear.

Unknown to the two adults, that only caused the cold that had always been there to rise to the surface. Without the heat to balance it out and hide it's presence, it was making itself known once more.

And Nana always made such a fuss when her son went out into the snow without any shoes, yet never caught a cold.

As the two left, leaving Tsuna all alone with his mother once more, they had absolutely no idea what they had unleashed.

* * *

It was during one of their little get togethers that someone brought it up. Namely Sandy, even though he couldn't voice what he wanted to say in a normal way.

North actually took note of what Sandy's was saying for once.

"Has anyone seen Jack?"

"He's probably off messing around, as usual," scoffed Bunnymund.

"Actually... I haven't seen him in a while. Have you?" asked Tooth to the little Baby Tooth that had so taken with Jack.

She shook her head, before giving Tooth a pointed Look, as if she was very disappointed with the bigger fairy for something.

"Has any of you seen Jack recently?" asked North.

As that sunk it, it took them several moments to recall that they hadn't seen or heard from Jack Frost in quite some time. Normally he made it to one of their gatherings at least once or twice a year since becoming Guardian, but he hadn't bothered to show up to any of them for a while now.

Sandy suddenly frowned, as a series of pictures flashed above his head.

The last time he heard from Jack, he was trying to see if they could hang out for a few hours. Or just 'talk'. Sandy had been busy as always and had sent a polite decline, and that was the last of it. It had been at least several years since then.

Baby Tooth was glaring at them all now, and chittered with an unhappy voice, before turning her back on all of them. It was such unusual behavior that Tooth became slightly alarmed by it.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked baffled.

Baby Tooth turned her 'nose' up at them all before chittering again.

"Jack's upset with us?" she translated.

"What would Frostbite have to be upset about?" said Bunnymund.

Baby Tooth 'stomped' her feet, chittering angerily.

"We ignored him, so now he's gone away?" said Tooth.

"Gone away. What do you mean, gone away?" asked North.

"So what if we ignored him a few times? Surely he's not that upset about it," said Bunnymund.

Baby Tooth was outright glaring at all of them angrily now.

"'You made him feel like he was part of a team, and then treated him like an outsider again. None of you bothered to make him feel welcome at _all_ after Pitch was sent back,'" translated Tooth. She blinked and looked slightly ashamed of herself.

Now that her fairy mentioned it, they hadn't really gone out of their way to include Jack as a fellow Guardian. They were so used to it being just the four of them that they hadn't really thought twice of falling into their old habits. And they had always ignored Jack when he was still a normal, mischievous Winter spirit that they hadn't really accepted him as a new Guardian.

Bunnymund flinched, realizing that Jack had told them repeatedly that the reason he missed their little gatherings was because no one had told them where and when they were. He had complained how none of them had told him the 'signals' they gave each other for a get together and he was lucky to stumble into one. Jack had even tried to initiate a few during times when it was convenient for them to relax a bit, but had often been rebuffed as he was unaware that they had already met some time earlier.

"Still, what does she mean he went away?" said North, confused by that.

 _The fairy means that Jack was so fed up with being excluded by people who had made him feel welcome as a team since he first became a spirit that he has chosen to become Mortal again._

As one, the Guardians turned to the Man in the Moon in shock.

"What do you mean, he became mortal again?!" said Bunnymund in horror.

 _Jack has been alone ever since he was a spirit, with only the Wind to talk to. Being given a taste of having friends had given him hope, but when you excluded him as an equal his loneliness became too much to take. His very 'center' as a Guardian was beginning to die every time you ignored him. So I gave him back his mortality, at least for one lifetime._

You have only yourselves to blame, went unsaid but was definitely implied.

The Guardians were all looking very ashamed of themselves. Worse, they had no idea where Jack was or how to find him.

* * *

Baby Tooth flew off, to parts unknown.

While the Guardians didn't know where Jack was, _she_ did. After all, someone had to collect the teeth of the children and it wasn't like the Tooth Fairy paid much attention to the teeth they were collecting so long as they did their job.

The Guardians might have ignored Jack, but she had often taken time off from her job to 'chat' with him. Her sisters didn't mind, since it meant they could swoon over his perfect teeth whenever he visited, at least until Tooth got annoyed with him there and chased him out thinking he was there to bother her.

Baby Tooth flew to Japan, knowing the Tooth Fairy would be unable to figure out where she was, since she rarely paid attention to all the little fairies under her command anyway.

" _Baby Tooth!"_

The little fairy chittered and nuzzled against the boy Jack had become. He was still so very cold, but it wasn't as bad because there was a warmth of happiness in him now that came from a childhood.

"Tsuna" was such a sweet kid, and she had recognized Jack in him from the instant he first caught her picking up his teeth under the pillow.

He didn't care that the other children made fun of him for still believing in the tooth fairy and the others. He would still talk to her whenever she visited.

She could still remember the way Tsuna had corrected his mother when she had chided him for staying up to see the Tooth Fairy.

" _Mama, the Tooth Fairy doesn't collect teeth herself anymore. She sends her little fairies to do it for her and rarely leaves her palace."_

" _Oh?"_

" _And Santa doesn't let the elves make presents... his Yetis make them."_

Nana had looked amused.

" _What about Sandman and the Easter Bunny?"_

" _Sandman can't speak...he uses charades and pictures to talk. And the Easter Bunny is really grumpy and full of himself."_

Baby Tooth had noticed Tsuna's mother didn't really believe him, but was amused by his "vivid" imagination. Except she knew the second she heard him speak of the Guardians that he had to be Jack. She had been so relieved when she realized he was alright, just human now.

And yet he had somehow managed to retain the cold that was part of him despite being human again.

She had panicked at first, thinking this was some ploy of Pitch... at least until Man in the Moon had explained what was going on to her. She would not begrudge her friend a chance to be happy when the Guardians made him feel unwelcomed.

As Tsuna caught Baby Tooth up on his day, she couldn't help but wonder if the Guardians would ever get their act straight and figure out where he was as quickly as she had.

She dismissed that idea almost immediately. If they _had_ bothered to get to know Jack, then he would have felt so alone that he had asked MiM to turn him human again just to escape the pain of being excluded.

She spotted one of her sisters outside, and sadly chittered a goodbye to Tsuna. He didn't mind... he understood she was busy and was using up her break to visit with him. He appreciated and treasured the fact she cared enough to listen in the first place.

It was the same reason he owned so many wind chimes. He loved the way the Wind would send them 'singing' whenever he left the windows open. Even human, the Wind had always been Jack's closest friend.


	43. You're a WHAT? Chapter One

_**This came while binge-playing**_ **Lego: Jurassic World _on my 2DS. I simply couldn't resist!_  
**

 ** _The basic gist is that Lal decides to be a Raptor Trainer rather than babysit Iemitsu. Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _ **The job offer**_

Lal Mirch had no idea what to do with her life now that Luce was gone. Everyone else had moved on, but she was somewhat stuck in a rut and rather reluctant to join CEDEF, regardless of how annoying Iemitsu Sawada was being about trying to recruit her.

So when she hears about a rather unique job opportunity from an old friend in the military, she's open to anything so long as it isn't too demeaning.

"Let me get this straight... they're reopening that park, except this time they're planning to train one of the more dangerous species to see if it can be done. And they want someone with experience to do it," said Lal slowly.

"Yup. Figured you could use something to shake off the rust, what with your condition and all," said Greg.

"...What's the pay again?"

"Fairly high, and you get a free place to live on the island along with a major discount on the restaurants. If it wasn't for the whole 'screw up and you will almost certainly be eaten' thing, a lot of the younger guys would go for it."

Lal thought over her options. On one hand, the job was really dangerous, ridiculous on the same level as her idiot student, and was a very rare and unique job opportunity even at the almost certain risk of being eaten if you screwed up and they decided to quit listening at the wrong time.

On the other hand, being offered a job as CEDEF was safe, boring and would most likely entail having to babysit the idiot who ran the organization since he apparently didn't have the common sense god gave a mule.

Who was she kidding, she already knew what she wanted the second she found out it there was even a remote chance of something interesting that was certain to keep her well occupied for the next couple of years if she played her cards right. She would be bored out of her mind if she went to CEDEF without at least giving it a shot.

Besides, if she was hired then the looks on the faces of the others would be totally worth most of the headaches that were almost certain to come her way. She could see it now, and she really, really wanted this job just for that reason.

Reborn alone would be hilarious, to say nothing of Colonello when he found out.

 _A few weeks later..._

"Aren't you a bit young to be applying?"

"I have a rare condition, but not one that will affect my ability to handle these animals if hired. I may look small but I can still do the job and I have prior experience as a trainer," said Lal, biting back her first response.

"Would you mind undergoing a test to prove that?" her potential employer asked.

"I would be more worried if you didn't put me through some sort of insane test to prove it," she countered.

Proving she could handle the work load was a pain in the ass, but totally worth it when she ended on the short list of applicants. In the end it came down to one simple thing.

Lal could pay for the cost to replace her animals if something happened to them. Considering the way the greedy idiots were eyeing the eggs, she wouldn't trust anyone from InGen if her life depended on it.

Even if it meant having to crash with one of the others, since paying for them would completely wipe out her savings if this worked out. The comfort of knowing that the pack would be _hers_ and not belonging to some greedy moron who would only use them as weapons was not to scoffed at.

Besides, it would be worth every coin just to see the look on the faces of the Cosa Nostra realizing Lal had trained dinosaurs at her command and there was quite literally nothing the Vindice could do about it because there were no Flames involved. Just a known aspect of science that was being dusted off and given a new look.

* * *

 _ **The Pack**_

The second Lal laid eyes on her new pack, she knew she had made the right choice paying in full for all four eggs. She briefly wondered if this was what being a mother was like, because she felt an indescribable bond between her and the eye staring right back at her from the opening in the egg.

Well if nothing else she'd have the entertainment of watching Colonello try to handle her new "children" when he came to visit. The expression alone would be worth introducing her idiot student to her 'babies'.

Okay, so maybe she was weird for being all maternal on four vicious little bastards that were just _barely_ bigger than she was when she wasn't cursed when fully grown and fully capable of eating her if she screwed up. But they were so cute!

Of course it took less than a week for them to figure out that she was the "Pack Mother" on top of being the unequivocal Alpha Bitch. Blue in particular perked up when she saw Lal toss Hoskins clear across the room, despite being several times smaller than him and then displaying her natural dominance over the lesser male who was entirely unworthy of being considered pack.

The fact that the Alpha also puts other lesser males in their place despite the size difference earns the respect of the raptors. That she's also female and treats them like her offspring by feeding them meat that she has hunted herself helps greatly. Though that doesn't stop her from sneaking little treats like the oddly flavored dry meat.

Seeing the Alpha hunt using her brain, rather than just her oddly shaped claw made the pack rather eager for when they were big enough to join in.

* * *

 _ **The Mate**_

"Holy shit, Kora! I thought you said you took a job as an animal trainer?!"

Lal smirks and is very glad that she brought Colonello to the observation area where there are cameras. Like hell is she letting him live this down.

"I did," she said smugly.

"You didn't say anything about it being _raptors_ ," said Colonello.

He had _heard_ things about this particular breed of dinosaur from the last time they tried to make a park with genetically bred animals that had gone extinct.

Lal openly cackled.

"How do you like my kids?" she asked. "Only took them a few months to pick up how to do Morse code with those claws of theirs. Should have seen my boss' expression when I had them answering simple questions using their claws."

Masrani had looked somewhat horrified at the revelation the raptors were much, much smarter than he had accounted for. So had quite a few others.

After all, if they were capable of learning Morse code at seven months old _and_ answering questions in actual sentences, then that made them exceedingly dangerous.

Anything that could think like a human was automatically a threat.

"For the love of god, _why_?" asked Colonello with a pained look.

"Because it was either raptor trainer or babysitting a Sky who has absolutely no common sense to speak of," she deadpanned. "Besides, the girls grow on you and I fully intend to take them home with me if things don't work out... can you imagine the Cosa Nostra's reaction to them being around?"

Colonello blinked, thought that one over before grinning wildly.

Yeah, once they got over the shock of trained raptors the sheer WTF look was sure to be hilarious.

 _With the Raptors_

Blue looked at her sisters with confusion. They were surprised that their Alpha Mother had a mate, but one that didn't stay with the pack full time.

So when Alpha came down with her mate, Blue elected to ask 'why'.

(Which was one of the reasons why people were very alarmed by the raptors. Anything with a brain enough to ask questions like _why_ were far more sentient than a simple animal should be.)

Alpha blinked for a moment when Blue asked why.

 _Why what,_ she tapped with her own claw against the shiny barrier.

 _Why does mate stay away from pack_?

The mate choked for a moment.

" _Did your 'children' seriously just call me your mate?"_ he asked in that funny language that their Alpha used to speak to the lesser animals.

" _I told you I taught them how to speak in Morse. I plan to move on to simple commands with a whistle and hand signals later."_

Then it hit Alpha what they just called the one beside her.

 _Did you just call him my mate?_ She tapped rather baffled. Blue tilted her head.

 _He smells interested in Alpha. Is he not mate?_

The male began to cackle.

" _See? Even your own pack thinks we're perfect for each other!"_

" _Idiot student! DON'T GIVE THEM IDEAS!"_ barked Lal, slapping him around a bit.

Blue and the others watched with interest. Alpha clearly liked her mate and made a point to remind him who lead the pack with that display. That he allowed her to establish dominance spoke well of the fact that he understood his place among the Pack.

They memorized his scent as "Pack/Potential Secondary Alpha" and left to chase the prey that the Alpha had sent in for them to practice their hunting skills with.

Colonello was too busy poking the Tsundere that was Lal, before he asked another question since the Pack had clearly accepted him to an extent.

"So have you told the others yet?"

"And ruin the fun of being able to capture their expressions when they find out I'm a raptor trainer personally?" she said incredulous. "I really, really want to see Reborn or Fon's expressions when they find out. Though if things go south I am so crashing on your couch...paying for the pack wiped out my savings like you wouldn't believe."

Colonello blinked.

"You know you could always share my bed with me, and what do you mean 'paying for the pack'? I thought the park paid for them."

"There's this one idiot who wants to use the raptors as a replacement for soldiers or technology. He actually thinks they can be turned into something akin to trained attack dogs, and he wouldn't hesitate to set them loose on the park if he could get away with it. So I made a deal with my boss and he agreed to let me 'buy' the raptors from the park...officially I'm being paid to prove it is possible to train the raptors, but if things go south I can legally remove them from the island so long as they don't attack humans. Plus since they're not mafia-bred or use any Flames, the Vindice won't bother me if I do use them to scare the living hell out of people," said Lal smugly.

"...Is that why you taught them how to speak in Morse code?" asked Colonello.

"Actually that was part boredom and partly to shut up the morons who think the pack is little more than brainless animals. I've heard stories about the original raptors and those things were able to open up _doors_ without having prior experience with them. By the way, did you know the T-Rex we have is the original one from the first park?"

Colonello could tell Lal was _thoroughly_ enjoying herself. She was alive in a way that had been missing since their old days in COMSUBIN.

"So how exactly have you been training them?"

"I'm using falconry techniques on top of treating them like green recruits that have retractable claws and an inability to speak normally," she replied.

"You mean you put a hood on them?"

"No, I mean I basically treat them like bigger, deadlier versions of Falco and make sure to establish my dominance whenever it looks like the girls are trying to get catty around me," Lal replied.

Colonello looked at the 'girls', then at his animal partner.

"I can see it. You look really happy here."

"I enjoy the challenge, and raptors are smarter than half the recruits I've had to suffer through. Only takes a few repetitions before they catch on so I'm really eager to see what they can do with military hand signs."

"Wouldn't that make them more appealing as weapons?"

Lal shook her head.

"I went over Hoskins' head and showed the board exactly how much time, effort and training would be required just for _one_ raptor/human pair. It takes a certain skill set to be able to handle the girls and not get eaten if you enter the cage with them and most people wouldn't have it. Those that could do it would generally think twice, have the wrong mind set or are either employed already or retired."

Seeing Lal interact with her girls inside the cage, with Colonello cautiously joining her (much to the horror of those watching outside), he could see the appeal. They really were bigger versions of Falco, and it didn't take much for him to start treating them accordingly.

Nuvolo (officially anyway, but everyone called her Blue), Tempesta, Fulmina, and Nebbio looked at the blond curiously, sniffing him thoroughly without attempting to bite or attack. Considering he was right next to Lal and their scent clearly indicated he was her 'mate' (even if she tried so very hard to deny mutual interest), the girls quickly accepted him as part of the pack.

Especially when he was quick to take out his own oddly shaped claw and 'talk' with them with quite some enthusiasm.

And if the girls happened to accept Falco as "pack, not prey" upon meeting them, well Colonello could only feel relief.

 _Later, at dinner..._

"So you named them after their behavior when it came to Flame types?"

"Blue is her nickname because of her blue streak, but the others remind me a lot of the average Flame user that I couldn't resist. Made naming them easier anyway. Nebbio is such a typical sneaky Mist that I almost can't wait for Viper to meet her, and Tempesta is certainly going to amuse Fon," said Lal with amusement.

"So if Blue is a nickname what's her original one?"

"Nuvolo," she replied.

Colonello started cracking up.

"No wonder you made her the beta! What's her territory?" joked Colonello.

"The Pack and the Pack mother of course. I'm surprised they took to you so fast, because normally they don't like humans much."

"Considering they immediately thought 'mate' rather than 'lesser male', I'm taking that as a massive compliment," said Colonello cheekily.

"So...do you want me to give you the video and blackmail when the others find out what my new job is?"

"God yes. Especially Reborn!" cackled Colonello.

He couldn't wait for the others to get curious as to why Lal was gone for so long and come sniffing about. They were worse than cats sometimes!


	44. Rise of the Black Dragon Chapter One

**If and when this gets posted as a full story, it will be rated M purely because of Xanxus and Squalo's language. XD**

* * *

It was the middle of the night when fate's wheels cracked and began to spin uncontrollably in a random, unforeseen direction.

A rather rotund, unpleasant man was looking around for a place to stash the bundle in his arms. After a few moments to assure himself that the cops weren't around and no one would identify him later, he dumps the bundle into the trash and makes clear strides towards his hotel. After all, he had been sent to do a business deal that would hopefully land him a promotion later if things were successful.

It was only when it started to rain that the bundle shifted, and began to wail, revealing a small infant with pure green eyes and pale skin.

The man had long since gone, but the child remained.

It continued to bawl louder...until a pair of thin arms picked it up.

"Shhh... shhh... Hush little one. So like my little Alexander," cooed the woman. "My precious, precious child."

Green eyes latched onto the woman. She was nicer than the other female, who shrieked and was mean and made him spend long hours in that dark place when he was hungry or made a mess in his diaper.

"Ma ma?" said the little one, too young to understand the world around him fully.

A strange, almost sad smile came across her face.

Her little Alexander was gone, taken away too soon by one of her 'customers' who had hurt her badly before he killed her precious infant son for crying too loudly...but perhaps god had sent her a replacement? Her fevered mind, already addled by the pain of losing her only son and the drugs she used to cope with the loss, latched on to this new scenario.

"Shh... it's alright little Xander... mama has you and she won't let you go away again," she whispered, clutching her new son closely.

Unaware of the repercussions of adopting an infant left abandoned in the slums of Italy, or the way that the winds of destiny were shifting into new, unfamiliar patterns.

* * *

 _Five years later..._

Xanxus looked at the brilliant red-orange flames in his hand. His mother stared at them as well, her feverish mind supplying a new addition to his past that he sadly knew was a figment of her imagination.

Last year when his Ma was actually sane and not drugged up, in a rare moment when she was her real self and not the woman he took care of in her bad moments, she had let it slip that while he wasn't her son in blood, she still loved him as her own.

Xanxus had felt numb when she calmly explained to him that she had found him in the trash less than a month after losing her actual son Alexander. How in her drugged state she had decided that since god had taken one son, she would claim him as a replacement.

And he believed her.

He had always known, to some extent, that he was _not_ her biological son. It wasn't the whispers that the other whores shared in the dark of the night when they thought no one could hear them. It wasn't the fact that he looked nothing like his Ma, or that his eyes were the wrong color.

Something inside him told him that she wasn't his mother. Memories of a woman screaming in the night, pleading for his life only for her own to be cut short. Of people changing into animals (mostly a dog and a stag). Of a man with a wild beard driving a motorcycle, wild and fierce, but in reality very gentle.

However...this woman who had lost her child had taken in a brat someone had tossed aside like so much trash. She had fed him, raised him, and did everything she could in her condition to treat him like her actual son.

And he'd be damned if anyone said different. In the absence of his own mother, this woman was his Ma and he'd kill anyone who said differently.

Now though, now Xanxus genuinely feared for her. From the way she was talking, she was making it out like he was the son of one of her johns. Someone high up. Someone _important_.

And for a slum rat, earning the gaze of someone _important_ never, ever ended well. It was a fairy tale when such things did end well for the poor bastard who suddenly got thrown into the upper class without having to earn it the hard way first.

Unaware of the way his eyes shifted to a bright, crimson red at the thought of some bastard hurting his Ma because she lied, Xanxus vowed that he'd protect her with this new power.

It wasn't the other one. The one he kept secret because his gut told him it would be a bad idea if people knew he had it. That a lot of the wrong sort would come for him if it was exposed at the wrong time.

So when he saw the old man with the 'kindly' old face, Xanxus knew that trusting him with the truth was not a smart move. Better to play along that he was the man's son for now.

At least until he was old enough and strong enough to take anything the world tried to shove on him, before turning around and telling them to fuck off.

Timoteo Vongola might think he had the slum youth fooled with his "nice" persona, but he had no idea what he was about to unleash on his famiglia.

* * *

 _In the Vongola Mansion..._

He was fine with Enrico, Massimo and Federico, all of which seemed rather dubious about the whole "You have an illegitimate half-brother" bullshit the old geezer was trying to sell. While he did have these "Wrath Flames", he could tell they weren't entirely buying it.

The stupid fucker known as Iemitsu, however, pissed him off. And that was _before_ he heard the asshole speak. He could tell right off that he wouldn't be getting along with him, ever.

Pretty much the same feeling he got from the old geezer's Storm Guardian, the uptight shit head Coyote Nougat.

It didn't take much for Xanxus to utterly _loathe_ the Storm Guardian.

And that was before he blasted through the tutors they insisted he suffer through. People who, almost to a _man_ , thought he was a savage, uneducated feral brat who should be grateful that they were taking time to teach his ass things he already knew.

Why the fuck none of these trash thought to give him a simple competency test to see exactly where his grade level was the first time they had to deal with him, he'd never understand.

"Oh dear. So this is the little stray you picked up?" said a voice.

He turned and glared at it. He wasn't a fucking stray kitten that needed a home. He had one he was perfectly fucking happy with!

The woman was old, but she still looked younger than the fucker who had claimed him as his son and then only pretended he was family long enough to bitch about his behavior.

And his 'brothers'? Don't make him laugh, they all had their heads up their asses and seemed happy to pretend the world was already theirs.

The woman looked amused.

"Honestly son, why are you attempting to turn a half-feral tiger cub into a pampered house cat? Have you no sense at all?"

Suddenly he was liking her a bit more than the shitty old geezer. She at least understood he wasn't some pampered prince.

He found himself scooped up. It wasn't his fault he was skinny as hell! It was hard finding quality food in the slums and his ma couldn't cook worth a shit! He had to learn out of self-defense!

"Hello little one. My name is Daniela and I suppose I'm your grandmother," she said.

"At least you're not as stupid as that shitty geezer or the bitchy Storm of his," said Xanxus bluntly.

Rather than be offended, Daniela tried to hold back her laugh...she wasn't very successful.

"Yes, my son can be quite dense, can't he? Care to keep an old woman company for a bit while my son attempts to free up some time for his poor old mother?"

Spend time with a woman who apparently had eyes and knew how to fucking use them, or with tutors who were all idiots.

Decisions, decisions.

"I better not have to dress up or any shit like that," he said flatly.

"I think we're going to get along splendidly," laughed Daniela, an impish gleam in her eyes.

It was official. Xanxus liked Daniela a hell of a lot more than the lying shitty old geezer or his bitchy Storm. Daniela had laughed herself almost to hiccups when he bluntly stated that Coyote had to be going through perpetual menopause or had something uncomfortable shoved firmly up his ass with how he always seemed to have a bitchy look on his face regardless of the circumstances. She really _did_ get hiccups when he said that Enrico looked like a idiotic rooster with his head stuck up his ass with how he strutted about like he owned the place already and failed to see the little things.

Daniela understood him a lot better than his so-called 'father' ever tried to.

She was the one to arrange for a basic test to see exactly where he actually _was_ education wise. She was pleasantly surprised he was roughly up to the beginnings of a high school education, despite the fact he had lived in the slums his entire life.

Imagine his tutors shock when they learned the real reason Xanxus never paid attention to his lessons. He was already far ahead of what they were trying to teach him!

Daniela smiled and took her new grandson to the rather large library. To her amusement, Xanxus dove into the books without a second thought.

She noticed he was squinting quite a bit, despite the fact the room was well lit. How on earth did her son miss that the poor boy needed glasses?

* * *

 _In the office..._

Timoteo had a fixed look on his face, hiding the pained grimace he wanted to let out.

"You want to what?"

"I'm going to take over raising that little tiger cub you've taken in," said his mother firmly. "The poor boy is fitting in at all here, and it's clear you're far to busy to give him the firm hand he needs."

"He's an arrogant little shit who refuses to listen," spat Coyote. He didn't like Xanxus, and the kid made it clear the feeling was very much mutual.

Daniela's eyebrow twitched. That was never a good sign.

"The boy has an actual brain and a desire to actually use it. He's practically at the high school level already and he didn't even hesitate to dive into the library when I showed him where it was. Never mind the fact the poor thing needs glasses or contacts. He was squinting the entire time he was trying to read. He's not an idiot and you're going about it entirely the wrong way if you're trying to endear yourself to him," she said flatly, her smile rather terrifying.

Timoteo blinked.

"What?"

"Xanxus is very much an avid reader. Apparently he read whatever he could get his hands on while he was with his mother, and there was a small bookstore that had a sympathetic employee who looked the other way when he snuck in after hours. He needs glasses," said Daniela. She gave Coyote a look. "And he would be a lot easier to deal with if you didn't insist on automatically holding him to the same standards as your actual sons, when he has no idea what the unspoken rules are. Has anyone actually bothered to sit him down and _explain_ things to him in a way he can understand since he came here? He didn't even know how to request the shampoo and conditioner he actually wants, for god's sake!"

Xanxus made no bones how annoyed he was having to use the 'floral smelling crap'. He wasn't a fucking girl and he refused to smell like one.

Timoteo looked very much like he'd love to be anywhere else as his mother took him to task about his mismanagement of the Wrath he had found.

So much so that he more or less caved just to get her to leave that much faster.

A decision he would come to regret in later years, as it turned out. Perhaps if he had kept the child close he could have prevented the brat from picking up such a loud Rain as his Right hand.

* * *

Daniela's home, while slightly smaller than the Iron Fort, was a lot easier to breathe in. Xanxus _hated_ the Iron Fort, which always made the walls feel like they were closing in on him with all their stupid traditions and condescending attitudes.

Sure, he had to actually _behave_ and at least _try_ to tone down his swearing habit...but that was a small price to pay. Nonna, as she insisted he call her despite the fact she had acknowledged her son wasn't his actual father, was much easier to live with compared to that fucker Coyote who was always breathing down his neck for stupid shit.

He liked his grandmother. She didn't take shit from anyone despite being a woman, and she treated him like he had an actual brain, not like some pampered pet that made a mess when he didn't behave. Best of all she made sure he could actually _see_.

He never knew the world was so clear since he got those contacts. He always thought it was a blur unless you were really, really up close to it. Seeing things _properly_ was something he'd never thought he'd enjoy.

And if that wasn't enough, she even let him get the colored ones so long as it still fit within his prescription. Now he had his favorite bloody red coloring in his eyes on top of the feathers in his hair. Xanxus loved birds, almost as much as he loved cats.

Today he was going to read in this tree he had found in the forest surrounding the manor. It was in a deep, out of the way area where he could be assured of being left alone for hours at a time. Since all the territory for the next two miles belonged to the Vongola, it was almost assured that he wouldn't have to worry about much. And if something did happen...well they'd find themselves on the wrong end of a trick he had discovered quite by accident one morning when he was attempting to discover the full extent of his 'other' ability.

He knew through meditation that he had two spirit animals, both of which appealed to his inner sensibilities greatly. One he had already begun to learn how to shift into, and he found it great fun to explore...despite being the size of a medium-sized dog and half-grown. He knew he liked tigers for a reason.

The other one was far more difficult and drained him a lot faster than the first one did. At least attempting to actually turn into it anyway... he could spit fireballs with ease now and he found his skin was not semi-fireproof whenever he allowed it to take a slight leathery tone. And the less said about how much he could see when his eyes shifted, the better. He couldn't wait to figure out how to manifest the wings, because he'd never stay on the ground.

So it was only natural that when he found his territory partially invaded by a silver-haired asshole with a sword and a cocky smirk that he reacted badly.

"Voi! Who the fuck are you and what are doing in my training spot?" he sneered.

Xanxus saw red, and quite happily threw the first punch, nearly taking out the fucker's teeth in the process. On the plus side, his following punch gave the asshole a very nice broken nose.

"VOI! Who the fuck do you think you are asshole?!"

Xanxus said nothing, sliding into a stance he had learned last week, a feral grin on his face.

The silver-haired asshole took one look at that and grinned much like a bloodthirsty shark. He took out his sword and prepared to attack.

Xanxus couldn't rightly say how long they tried to beat the living shit out of each other. What he did know was that the moment he brought out of his angry red-orange flames, the silver-haired bastard tried to counter with a not-so-calming blue...and in the moment that they touched, the two somehow clicked.

 _MINE_ , his blood and soul sang. _This is_ MINE.

The silver haired asshole stumbled and tripped, before falling flat on his ass and staring at Xanxus in disbelief.

"Voi... what the actual fuck..." he said in shock. "You're a fucking _Sky_?!"

"You're the asshole trespassing in Nonna's back yard," Xanxus said smugly.

He stared at him in shock.

"Voi... you're not that kid that the shitty geezer claimed is his bastard son a few years back, are you?" he asked slowly.

"Fuck the old man and fuck his Storm," said Xanxus scowling.

The asshole ran his hand through his hair in shock.

"Voi...this is fucking messed up. Never expected to find my Sky here of all places..." he muttered.

Xanxus walked up to the asshole and held out his hand. The silver-haired pest took it without a second thought.

"Xanxus."

"Voi. Squalo Superbi," he replied back.

And that was how the Wrath met his rather violent and very vocal Rain. Timoteo would be cursing his "son's" choice in Right Hands for years after the fact.


	45. Sun and Sky Chapter One

**I am so sorry minna! I was snowed in and it was too dangerous to visit the library until the snow melted (it's at the bottom of a steep hill). So to make up for being gone so long I'll post a double update!**

* * *

It was a rather strange way to meet someone, he would admit later. Though apparently such things were par for the course in her life.

He hadn't thought that going to the bank that day would lead to being held up in a robbery...or that he would meet such an interesting little kitten.

There were worse ways to meet people.

Renato Sinclair, World's Greatest Hit Man, walked into the bank with the full intent of withdrawing more than the ATM's would ever allow. He preferred to take out large amounts because cash was much harder to trace than mere plastic. Especially with how quickly hackers were adapting to current technology.

A few feet away was a rather cute female making an inquiry as to a new account she considered opening at the bank.

She was about to start the paperwork when it happened. It was all very cliché in his opinion, and he had to hold back a curse when he saw one idiot female hit the silent alarm.

Didn't that fool know that the cops only made things more complicated?

"Everyone into the vault!" snapped the idiots. It hadn't taken much to peg these morons as either civilians trying to make a quick buck, or low ranking thugs who clearly didn't know that they should have picked another day to hit the bank. If he even got his hands on _one_ of their cheap guns they were all dead men for pissing him off.

Almost instinctively, the other hostages migrated to a corner _away_ from him. Considering the amount of pissed off aura and deadly intent he was letting off, it was pretty obvious why. All but one.

The rather cute girl who had been about to open up a new account was the _only_ person who dared to come anywhere near him, though she kept a respectful distance unless he didn't want to talk to anyone.

He decided to observe the only person brave enough to come near him out of boredom.

She was small, barely five foot seven, maybe eight. She had caramel hair that was slightly spiky, but fell neatly down her shoulders. Her eyes were a rather fascinating amber color, almost the exact shade of the sky during twilight, and wide. She wore clothes that were worn, but clearly well loved and clean... her shirt was just a tad bit too small for her figure and her pants ended just above her knees. It was neither fashionable nor trendy in the least, and yet it suited her well enough. She wore a pair of slightly new shoes that were made more for running than anything else.

Her skin tone was slightly tan, but there was a hint of Asian in her features. From her appearance he would have to guess she was half-Japanese, or possibly Chinese. Considering his only real reference for such a thing was a Chinese colleague he couldn't be entirely sure which it was.

She was either a high C or low D cup in the bust line, and she had a petite figure that was built more for speed than power, and overall had the aura of a skittish kitten.

Not exactly the sort of person who would dare to come near him while he was in a foul mood, but he'd give her silent approval for being brave enough to be this close.

It took him several moments to realize there was something on her shoulder. It was small, barely the size of his hand.

He had to stare when a small lizard...a chameleon his mind supplied... dropped it's cloaking and stared at him. It was small, lime green and had big orange eyes with a slit pupil. The tail was curled up in the air, almost looking like a scaly version of his side burns. It blinked at him with both eyes, making him blink back in some surprise.

"Why a chameleon?" he asked. He would have pegged her for a cat person...and why bring it to the bank with her?

"His name is Leon," she said in slightly accented Italian. "My name is Mia, what's yours?"

He couldn't detect a lie, though he had the feeling "Mia" was more of a nickname.

"Chaos. Renato," he said, lightly kissing the top of her hand. The blush she gave off was spectacular and made her even cuter in his eyes.

He hid a dark grin. It was so obvious she was inexperienced...the sort of person that was fun to play with for a while before they got scared off by his job. Or they were worn down by his more darker side and finally gave up trying to change him.

However what the little kitten said next had him reassessing any thoughts of her being an innocent little kitty cat.

"So... do you think those idiots outside are low level thugs or civilians trying to pretend they're hardened criminals?" she asked.

He had to blink, before resisting the urge to gape at her.

"Civilians," he said without thinking.

"Considering the fact they can't aim worth a damn and seem to be borrowing entirely from movies and television, I'd have to agree." said Mia dismissively. "The type of fools who would make really, really stupid decisions when the stress gets to them."

Renato had to stare at her in disbelief for a moment, before a slow, dark grin formed on his face.

"I think I like you, little kitten."

"If you could get your hands on one of those knock offs they're using, do you think you could resolve this before the cops make a mess of everything?" she asked seriously.

"Any gun would work," he agreed. He'd rather not deal with the cops either, and from the increasingly panicked sound of the morons outside it was clear they were already starting to fall apart.

Mia reached to her shoulder and Leon walked onto the top of her hand. With the way she was holding the chameleon it was almost like she expected it to turn into...

He stared in shock. The chameleon had just turned into an odd green colored hand gun. What the hell?!

"Would this do?" she asked innocently.

"How..."

"He's special. I would do it myself except I'm more of a hand to hand person and my aim isn't as good as I would like for this sort of thing," she admitted.

Renato's grin was positively _terrifying_. He distinctly heard the sound of one of the other female hostages whimpering openly at the sight of it, and the men were discreetly trying to shield the girls from a far closer threat than the robbers who shoved them in the vault. Some looked like they were contemplating removing Mia from his presence or removing what they thought was a fake gun from her hands before she got herself killed trying to be a hero.

"If your little friend is able to shoot real bullets, I'll owe you a drink."

"If you let me join you in avoiding the cops, I'll take you up on it," deadpanned Mia.

Oh he definitely liked her.

The vault door opened and Mia hid the fact Renato now had a gun that felt sufficiently heavy to make him believe it might actually shoot _proper_ bullets and wasn't simply for show. She smoothly moved behind Renato when the rather idiotic robber went to start threatening hostages in front of the cops.

 **BANG**

There was a dark feeling of satisfaction on his face seeing the idiot go down, blood already pooling from the wound. He didn't even bother to care about the sound of one of the women (not Mia...she was staying firmly behind him) screaming in horror at the sight or the fact that one of the weaker men had already fainted at the sight of a new corpse in front of him.

Renato was already moving, absently noting that Mia had the sense to stay out of his line of sight, but still within easy distance that he could sufficiently protect her. He made very sure to shoot out the cameras the second they came within range so the cops never got a good look at his face. His fedora kept his face obscured when they were walked into the vault.

True to Mia's word, when one fool tried to sneak up behind him she used some rather simple, if highly effective hand to hand to take him down first. Renato still put a bullet to his head...he didn't like leaving a potential enemy behind him, though why he trusted Mia to have his back was a mystery he could solve later.

The fact she trusted him enough to give him an actual gun was baffling enough.

By this point the robbers who had actual common sense were fleeing the bank, hoping to throw themselves at the mercy of the cops.

Renato and Mia went through a side door, one that was partially locked from rust and more or less forgotten about due to the fact it lead into an alley that was a bit snug. They managed to slip out the door and away from the growing crowd in the front though.

He was still getting a new jacket. This one was ruined thanks to the muck on the walls that they had to squeeze through in order to reach the street on the other side.

A few blocks away, Renato almost had to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

He had just been involved in a botched robbery/hostage situation, only to be saved not by some cops but by the only other person who could tell that the idiots were total amateurs and had a strange pet that could turn into a gun.

Speaking of the odd reptile, it had turned back into a chameleon again. The reptile apparently liked him enough that it crawled up his arm at some point during the escape via the narrow alley and was currently perched rather comfortably on top of his fedora.

He found the entire thing ridiculous enough that he pretended to ignore the fact he had a chameleon on his hat. It weighed so little that it was easy to forget it was there in the first place. He was so looking into finding one of his own later though... having a pet like that who could turn into a real weapon that couldn't be detected by normal means was far too useful not to try and find one of his own. The weight was perfect for his hand and made firing an almost instinctive thing.

After a moment he registered the fact that Mia was shivering. Likely the fact that the adrenaline was wearing off, or it could have been the mild chill in the air. He didn't even think twice...he removed his ruined jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"You're welcome little kitten," he said amused.

"I'm not a kitten," she pouted.

"Well you certainly look like a shivering little kitty cat to me," he said with a smirk.

Her pout was so adorable that it was hard to believe she had tied to the underworld.

"So why did you trust me? Why not stand with the other women in the bank?" he asked.

Because now that he thought about it, it was rather strange that the girl hadn't gone to stand with the other females in a show of solidarity and potential protection. Instead she had gone straight to him, despite the fact he was clearly the most dangerous one in the vault.

"You were the only one with active Flames. If anyone had the potential of dealing with those idiots and getting out alive, even if it meant removing them in a permanent manner it would be you," she said immediately.

He nearly stopped at that.

"Omerta?" he asked quietly.

"Vindice," she replied with absolutely no hesitation. Which only confirmed that she was either part of the underworld or aware of it to a greater extent than most.

Renato had to wonder why he felt so at ease with the little kitten following him. They were more than well enough away that the odds of the cops finding them were nonexistent. And yet he wanted to keep her close. It was strange.

Realizing they were close to one of his safe houses, he made a beeline to the nearest bar. He did owe her a drink, after all.

He had to grin as the kitten tried some of his drink and nearly sputtered. He had strong tastes, though she had the sense to shy away from any of the frilly mixed drinks that most women seemed to prefer. She chose a sedate straight bourbon before knocking it back with ease.

"You're experienced," he noted with amusement.

"When you've had to deal with as many headache inducing idiots who insist on creating far too much paperwork, you would learn how to drink real liquor too. Though I will credit a second cousin of mine for at least helping to introduce me to the good kind, not the cheap nonsense that tastes like ass," she admitted.

Renato had to chuckle at that.

"Sounds like you have an interesting family."

"I wouldn't trade them for the world," she admitted. "My father, on the other hand... I wouldn't mind sinking that narcissistic ass in the ocean with cement shoes and a ball gag, regardless of how cliché that death actually is for a mafioso. Or was it the mob who did that nonsense?"

Renato snorted in amusement.

"It was the Americans who came up with that ridiculous death, thank you very much."

It was strange how relaxed he was around the kitten. Here he was in a random bar after that absurd situation in the bank, actually enjoying himself and _laughing_. After a moment he realized with some surprise that Mia wasn't afraid of him. At all.

It was with some reluctance that the two parted ways, and Renato returned Mia's odd pet to her. He would swear the reptile was _pouting_ if the look he was giving him was any indication.

As he walked into his apartment, he felt a pang of loneliness. It had felt rather comforting to be able to sit with someone who knew _exactly_ what he was and showed absolutely no hesitation in trusting him during a dangerous situation. Who not only had his back, but was able to easily joke with him for drinks after.

It was one of the downsides of being a famous hit man... the number of friends he could actually trust could be counted on one hand with fingers left over.

He wouldn't mind seeing the little kitten again.

* * *

 _Mia's POV_

Mia looked at the retreating Renato's back and had to hold back a sigh. She knew who he was, who he would become. Leon clearly recognized him as well, but giving Renato his partner back wasn't an option. Not at the moment anyway.

She didn't know how or why she ended up in the past before the curse was used...but she wasn't complaining. Following Renato's lead had come naturally, once she realized who the glowering hit man in the corner actually was.

It was the side burns and fedora, she would swear. That and she could feel his Sun Flames shining brightly in his corner, just waiting to be unleashed.

She wanted to go up to him, to let him know who she was. But he'd never believe her. After all, the Bovino had yet to successfully play around with time travel to the point it became almost commonplace. It was still the stuff of science fiction and fantasy at the moment.

She had come to terms with the fact that the odds of her getting home were dwindling with each passing day two months in. Considering Byakuran had been involved in their little project, odds were she wasn't just in the past but another world entirely.

The memory of the incident that lead to her being sent with the untested device when they only realized at the last second was set to the wrong time still hurt like hell. They were only supposed to send her to roughly around the time Mukuro originally made his escape from Vindicare and came after her, not to the time period before the Fated Day.

She had arrived with only her clothes, her purse, Natsu's ring and for some reason, Leon with her. Her Vongola ring was completely missing, but she was still able to use her Vongola Gear. However the familiar writing was now completely blank, leaving no way to positively ID her as the Vongola Decimo.

After some consideration she had decided that was a good thing. Bad enough she was a Sky...she didn't want to get dragged into the Vongola's succession problems in this time period too.

It had taken very little effort to discover a few disconcerting facts that made her question whether the Vongola actually knew what they were doing when it came to training their heirs or not.

According to the few Flame actives she had managed to locate in order to get basic background information... thanks to her innocent appearance and Sky aura, the few people she managed to locate had been nice enough to elaborate on certain facts that fit with what she knew, and a few things she had been unaware of but was common knowledge to the older Flames... it was entirely possible that she had never properly harmonized with her Guardians.

Oh, they'd go to hell and back for her, but the feeling that the older Flames spoke of that was attributed to a proper Harmony had been missing save for a partial one she had with Lambo...and possibly the odd double bond with Mukuro and Chrome.

Considering she hadn't felt any of the 'pains' that the lone Guardian who had lost his Sky described (he couldn't bear to stay with his famiglia without his Sky and had been allowed to leave peacefully), she could only conclude that they had never harmonized in the first place.

Which hurt in it's own indescribable way.

But with Renato, she felt an odd twinge in her heart. One that almost sounded like it was trying to welcome him, to give him a place he could rest his guard and call home.

With any luck she'd run into him again, and soon.

Though this time without the whole 'failed bank robbery/hostage situation' mess. That had been very annoying.


	46. Blazing Brightly Chapter One

She honestly did not know how the hell anyone expected her to survive as a Mafia Boss without getting very, very drunk every once in a while without any of her Guardians to bother her.

Hell, they were the reason she had been driven to drink in secret in the first place!

Tsubame Sawada, aka Vongola Decimo, took another long pull of her drink.

Today had been particularly awful, and thus had driven her to flee the mansion for a few hours to get drunk off her ass until Lambo came back and figured out which bar she was at to drag her home...or more precisely to a Vongola owned hotel where she could sleep off the booze until the hangover dulled down enough that she could deal with her life as a mafia boss.

Out of all her Guardians, it was little Lambo who had found out about her drinking habits. He had said nothing, merely kept his silence and helped her home after.

"Now what's a beautiful woman like you drinking all alone?" purred a voice to her side.

It took every ounce of willpower to not choke on the scotch she was drinking the second she realized _Reborn_ was flirting with her. More to the point, she didn't see an ounce of recognition in his eyes.

She knew her disguise was good, but not _that_ good.

Debating her choices, she decided that it would be well worth the look on his face if he finally figured out who she was. So she played along.

"Well isn't this a surprise. Who would have guessed I'd attract the attention of the World's Greatest Hit Man himself?" she purred right back. She rather enjoyed the flicker of surprise that she knew _exactly_ who he was and wasn't afraid of him.

This was going to be hilarious... or not, if Reborn took offense to the fact his former student had played him like a fiddle.

Reborn got over his shock quickly enough. His smirk was positively predatory. He openly looked her up and down and evidently liked what he saw.

"I'll have what she's having."

Reborn took one sip and his estimation of the mystery female went up. This was good high quality scotch.

"So why are you drinking alone?"

"Because I needed a break and I'm too damn nice for my own good," said Tsubame.

If she were any less of a 'saint' she would have snapped and told her Guardians off years ago for the migraines they gave her. Instead she seethed in silence and got drunk.

As the night progressed, her amusement only rose in proportion to Reborn's clear interest in her. The fact he didn't even recognize her (then again she had never dared to _flirt_ with him or anyone for that matter) only made it even funnier.

It wouldn't be until morning when she was feeling decidedly sore and an odd feeling of _warmth_ in her chest that she realized maybe she had taken it a wee bit too far and should have enlightened him to who he was flirting with. But to be honest she was so happy that someone she knew she could trust was bothering to flirt with her at all that she would have had great difficulty stopping herself anyway.

Between her guardians, her work and the fact that she had to be leery of people trying to get in her pants in order to get something over the Vongola, her love life had been completely nonexistent. So much so that Hayato had made it a point to do background checks on anyone who so much as dared to voice having a crush on her.

Tsubame remembered everything that happened, and in spite of the raging hangover managed to slip out of the room the next morning before Reborn woke up. She was still surprised he didn't realize who she was even after taking her clothes out.

Meh. He was a big boy and she had heard things about his habits towards women. It probably wasn't the first time one of his one-night stands had disappeared on him after a very fun night and it likely wouldn't be the last. It wasn't like he'd be able to equate "Fiammata" with his no-good student after all. Not if he hadn't recognized her in the first place.

Slipping back into the mansion was easy. Being busted by Hayato and Mukuro when they realized she had a hangover was not.

The fact Ryohei thought it a bright idea to use his normal volume level at breakfast despite her raging hangover made it far worse. Lambo took one look at her face, before promptly downing his breakfast in seconds and bolting out of the mansion. He wasn't stupid enough to get caught in the blast zone that was long overdue, thank you very much.

"Ryohei... shut the hell up," snarled Tsubame.

The fact she swore _and_ told the Sun to be quiet in such a rude manner caused everyone to go completely silent.

"Let's get one thing perfectly straight. I have _had_ it up to here with the fact you lot insist on acting like damn mother hens around me and the amount of paperwork your damn antics cause! Do you lot have _any_ idea how much time I have to waste doing paperwork trying to make up for your behavior?"

The Guardians were giving her looks as if she were a wild animal about to bite their heads off, which wasn't too far off the mark.

She looked to each and every one of them in turn.

"Hayato, I love you dearly but could you _please_ quit taking offense at every _minor_ remark against the Vongola? And the backgrounds checks have _got_ to stop. If I catch you blowing up another wing of the mansion just to keep pretending you're not dating Takeshi, I will have all your ammo confiscated."

Hayato looked suitably chastised hearing that.

"Takeshi, please quit it with the 'clueless Rain' act. It's been giving me migraines for years because I'm absolutely terrified that you aren't taking _any_ of this seriously and it's going to get you killed. And I don't give a damn if you date Hayato."

Takeshi looked sheepish, but happy that she accepted their relationship.

"Mukuro, if anyone has a reason to burn this damn famiglia down it's me, so if I catch you traumatizing any more idiots I am going to kick your ass personally. And if you _must_ poke the bear that is Kyouya, then do it somewhere _I_ won't be obligated to pick up the bill or file paperwork for repairs for it. Otherwise I _will_ start spreading rumors that all the fighting you do with Kyouya is actually foreplay for your S and M relationship with Kyouya as the one doing the topping," deadpanned Tsubame.

Seeing the suitably offended looks on Kyouya and Mukuro's faces, she looked at the Cloud Guardian.

"Kyouya, I honestly could not care less if you and Dino are going at it like bunnies. But if I have to clean up after one of your rampages one more damn time I am going to video tape it and share it with the entire Cosa Nostra and then imply heavily that you're in a three-way relationship with Dino and Mukuro."

The shocked look in Kyouya's eyes was entirely worth it. She should have busted him sooner.

"Ryohei, I get that you are an 'extreme' man. But for the love of the gods, could you _please_ tone down the yelling? It's bad enough you've all driven me to go out drinking regularly with Xanxus, but I really don't want to deal with my raging hangovers while you're shouting at your usual volume level."

Hayato wasn't the only one staring at her.

"You go drinking with Xanxus?"

"He has good taste in strong liquor and doesn't judge when I join him. That and he's a safe person to rant to about the headaches you all give me while he bitches about his own men. Besides, Lussuria heals over the liver damage by morning anyway."

"Kufufufu... and what about Lambo? I notice he's not here," said Mukuro, trying to get over the shock that Tsubame was giving them all the riot act.

Her look was particularly flat.

"Lambo was the only one of you jerks that noticed how miserable I was and was nice enough to keep his silence about my drinking habits. He's the one who usually drags me to a hotel to sleep it off or brings me home and doesn't ask stupid questions. After all he has plenty of experience with me being hung over to recognize the signs and get the hell out first," said Tsubame flatly. She took polished off her water, before glaring at them all. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to get some actual sleep. If any of you are stupid enough to wake me before dinner then I make no promises on your continued survival or ability to procreate."

They all looked at each other, then at the way Tsubame left the room. They could clearly hear her slam her bedroom door and none of them were particularly inclined to piss her off when she was acting like this.

That being said Hayato was particularly shocked to find an almost full bar in her office. There was a mini-fridge full of ice, several bottles of high quality, high proof liquor (half of which were open and some were half-way gone), and several glasses that looked like they got regular use.

Takeshi called Squalo, mostly to confirm Tsubame wasn't joking about being a drinking buddy of Xanxus.

" _VOI! You idiots finally figured it out that you've been driving her to drink? I thought it was only the lightning brat who knew!"_

The Guardians couldn't help but be plagued by guilt, realizing that Tsubame had kept a lot of her real feelings bottled up inside. That and she had known that a few of her Guardians were actually dating but too shy to admit it.

* * *

Tsubame felt her stomach roll, and the nausea hit her hard again. It was only through sheer force of will that she didn't throw up, and that was only because Hayato was in the room.

It had been two and a half months since the "Incident" as her Guardians were calling it.

While they had mostly backed off with their mother hen attitudes or come out with their respective partners (Dino had been rather apologetic about the entire thing, once he found out she had known for almost two years that he was sleeping with her Cloud), that didn't mean they weren't keeping a watchful eye on her.

After finding half her stash, Hayato had taken to keeping a hawk-like watch over the liquor levels so he would know if they had pushed her to the brink again.

Except her Hyper Intuition warned her firmly against drinking anything, so she had to suffer the past couple of months sober. Unfortunately.

Eyeing a particular stack of papers, her eyebrows twitched.

If her Hyper Intuition wasn't going to let her drink, then she would have to do something else to relieve her annoyance. She scrolled through her contacts before her Intuition purred when she reached the "F" section. Her finger was on the name "Fon" and an evil idea occurred to her.

Well, Kyouya had been particularly _bitchy_ since she busted him over the fact he was dating Dino and she threatened to spread rumors of a threesome with Mukuro involved.

And this would definitely amuse her to the point her migraine might go away. If not, maybe Fon knew some pressure points to help.

She made the call, and a week later the Chinese Storm, openly amused at her request came in. Hayato was currently on a mission and Kyouya had no idea she had called the former Storm Arcobaleno in.

She was about to greet Fon...when she caught his expression.

"What?"

"...Are you aware that you're pregnant?" he asked slowly.

Tsubame paled.

"What?!" she nearly shrieked.

"You didn't know?" he asked.

Tsubame desperately wanted to introduce her head to her desk.

"I thought it was the flu... oh god, Reborn is going to kill me."

Reborn was the _only_ person she slept with within the past three months.

"I'm sure he'd be more interested in threatening whoever you slept with," said Fon calmly. "Unless it was one of your Guardians."

Tsubame's dark snort made Fon frown.

"Please, Hayato is dating Takeshi, Ryohei's married to Hana, Chrome and Mukuro have been an item since he was freed and Kyouya is currently in a relationship with Dino, and Lambo is my little brother."

"You do at least know who the potential father is, right?" asked Fon worriedly. If only because Reborn would be downright murderous until he tracked the culprit down.

Never mind what the rest of her Guardians would do.

Tsubame groaned.

"Chaos. What's Fon doing here?" asked Reborn. It was the first time he had bothered to visit the Vongola in over two months.

He had been busy looking for that cute little Sky who had somehow managed to harmonize with him.

"She called me in to 'play' with Kyouya. Are you aware your student is pregnant?" asked Fon.

Reborn's eyes narrowed.

"You're pregnant?"

"I have no idea. I thought it was just a bad case of stomach flu, and ever since I reamed my Guardians a new one they've been avoiding me. Well except Hayato...he's been too busy keeping an eye on my stash in case I get hungover again."

Reborn raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'hungover again'?" he demanded.

Perhaps it was the Reborn's potential reaction, or perhaps it was the stress of finding out she _might_ be pregnant.

"You're the idiot who didn't realize who he was flirting with two and a half months ago," she snapped. "I have to admit, I thought you would have caught on to the fact it was me at the bar, but somehow you missed all the little clues as to who I was."

Reborn's eyes went wide as he realized what she meant.

He stalked over to her, likely to confirm she actually _was_ pregnant and looked like someone had slapped him silly with a fish. Fon blinked as he felt the rising panic in Reborn's Flames.

Tsubame gave into the urge and let her head lightly hit the desk in despair.

This was going to be a _nightmare_ trying to explain this to everyone.

"Where's your stash?" asked Reborn flatly. God, he needed a drink after today.

Tsubame pressed a button under her desk, revealing an almost full bar. Fon and Reborn had to blink when they saw the selection.

"This is a lot of high quality liquor," said Fon evenly. He was starting to suspect why Reborn and Tsubame were both acting off.

"I started drinking with Xanxus, and he was more than happy to get my own collection started," deadpanned Tsubame.

A scant hour later, Shamal confirmed Fon's diagnosis. He was more interested in why Reborn looked very much like he wanted to get very, very drunk and was already starting.

"So... any idea who the father is?" asked Shamal cheerfully.

"Would you believe me if I said that it was Reborn? And that it's his own fault for not recognizing me at the bar?" deadpanned Tsubame.

Shamal snorted...until he realized that no one else was laughing.

"Wait... you're serious?" he said incredulous.

"I was drinking alone and he comes up smooth at silk and started flirting with him. You know what he's like and I was waiting for him to recognize me. I wasn't expecting it to go so far as sleeping with him," she said cattily. "The second I realized what happened I got cleaned up and booked."

Reborn looked positively annoyed by that.

"Which means I spent the last two and a half months on a wild goose chase thanks to you," he said irritable. "If I had known _you_ were the Sky I harmonized with, I would have stuck around sooner."

"You missed me ripping most of my guardians a new one or threatening to blackmail Kyouya and Mukuro after I got back to the mansion," she informed him. That only served to annoy him further.

"What did you threaten Kyouya with?" asked Fon curiously.

"Told him to either knock it off with his habit of causing so much destruction or I'd tape him going at it with Dino and imply he was in a threesome with Mukuro involved."

Fon choked with open amusement. No wonder Kyouya had been annoyed recently.


	47. Sunny Magicks Chapter One

When he was seventeen, James received the worst news of his life.

He was completely sterile, to the point it would take a magic given miracle to give him children. As the Head of the Potter family, that was a devastating blow. Only Sirius was made aware of it, having brought a drunk James home when the muggle doctors gave him the news personally.

This was bad news. As a Pure blood, much less the head of his house, there was nothing more important (once he acquired a suitable wife) than to produce an heir to his house, if only so that the family magics would continue.

If word got out about his condition it would ruin them.

Lily, when she found out, was equally upset. Until James happened to look though his old photo albums and remembered something important.

He wasn't the last Potter. Most people assumed that, considering his older brother never went to Hogwarts (everyone thought the man was a Squib and thus unimportant), but it couldn't be farther from the truth.

The reality was that his older brother had the sense to go to Beauxbatons and had liked living away from the stupidity of England that he never came back. Last he checked, Richard was living in Italy under a new name. James honestly had no idea what his older brother (and some would say rightful heir) did, and he didn't care.

All he cared about was the fact that there was still a chance for the Potter line to continue through his older brother, if the man and Lily were willing to make an unusual compromise.

James pulled out the quill and parchment and wrote an unusual letter... but not before telling his wife his plan.

Sirius was all for it... after all, the kid would still be James' heir because he remembered Richard and knew the man wouldn't want to be tied down with a child. He'd be part of the kid's life, but he wouldn't come back for anything less than a full on emergency if Lily agreed to this. He was a pure blood and knew his duty just as well as James did.

"You want me to _what_?" said Lily in shock.

"I have an older brother named Richard. We don't speak much because he preferred living outside of England and chose Beauxbatons over Hogwarts. Everyone thinks he's a Squib but that's a lot of dragon dung. He just prefers to live muggle somewhere in Italy."

"Wait, if you have an older brother then why..."

"Richard handed over the titles and everything in exchange for a family vault that is occasionally topped off by the main one. He had no interest in sticking around England once he got a taste of what life was like far from the nonsense that most pure bloods insist on because they were emulating the muggle nobility. He's too much of a free spirit, and it continued the ruse he was a Squib which amused him endlessly."

"In short he had no interest in being stuck dealing with the harpies trying to throw themselves at him just to get in his pants and get knocked up, whereas you fixated on me early enough to chase the rest off," said Lily dryly. "Now what is this insane plan of yours?"

"I highly doubt my brother would ever dare get himself 'fixed' as you've often threatened to do to Sirius. Therefor there's still a chance he might be able to help give us a child," explained James.

Lily stared at him.

"You want me to sleep with your brother in the hopes I get knocked up."

James nodded sheepishly. Lily was a muggleborn... odds were she might take this badly.

Instead she sighed.

"Let me at least meet with him and see if he's agreeable. I'm not saying yes, but at this point I'm desperate enough to humor your usual idiotic ideas."

James brightened.

He sent off the owl, making sure it was blood coded so only a direct match to the Potter bloodline would be able to read the actual missive.

* * *

 _In Sicily..._

Renato Sinclair (formerly Richard Potter) looked at the owl with distaste. He recognized his brother's crappy handwriting anywhere.

However it was after he dealt with the minor papercut that his eyebrows raised in shock.

James was sterile (according to the muggle doctors, there was something wrong with his seed...they were too damaged to properly take due to all the rampant inbreeding) and he had only found out _after_ the wedding.

So he had a sister-in-law? That ought to be fun. He knew James had a penchant for the ladies that had fiery tempers and wicked aim. No doubt he had found a nice red head to settle with...though he prayed to Loki that it wasn't a Prewitt or a Weasley.

James was asking something of him as a pure blood wizard. Renato had handed over the titles and the duties as head of house because he had found it too annoying to deal with. Well now James was calling him in as the Head of the Potter family to help him out with this minor issue in the hopes of producing an heir.

Well, he could at least see his new sister and see what he was dealing with first. If nothing else he could find out if the Solar Fire might be able to fix James' little problem.

He wondered how his brother would handle the news that the elder sibling had ended up in organized crime by accident and was now well on the way to becoming the World's Greatest Hit Man.

He was already a Master Arithimancer.

Renato made sure to pack his bags, switch his appearance and slipped back into England. He was very annoyed when he was briefly attacked by Death Eaters his very first three hours after returning home.

"Bloody wankers," he said in annoyance. He took out his gun and shot them all dead before they got a spell off. It turned back into the shapeshifting chameleon he had bonded with by accident.

Leon was a very useful familiar.

Richard was gone before anyone had the sense to question their savior. A man like him worked best in shadows. His mother Dorea always said that he was better at being a Black than a Potter. It was a miracle she had James so late, but he adored his little brother.

James almost hexed him when he apparated to the safe house they were hiding in.

"Dammit Rick, you could have given me some warning!"

"Chaos. Where's the fun in that?" said Richard, pushing his fedora up with a single finger. "Now where's my new sister-in-law? I want to meet the woman insane enough to marry my idiot little brother."

"I resent that remark," said Lily dryly.

Richard immediately poured on the charm. He was far more successful at it than James ever was, as evidenced by the fact she was blushing.

"Now why couldn't you have been like him? At least he knows how to greet a woman properly!" said Lily teasingly.

Richard grinned.

"My dear little brother has always been a little...slow...when it comes to the fairer sex. Not to mention he was stupid enough to go to that dreary old castle. Besides, I had a lot more practice," said Richard smugly.

There was a reason he chose Beauxbatons and it had nothing to do with the fact Hogwarts was in such an isolated spot with nothing to do.

Beauxbatons had a heavy gender bias towards the girls. Any guy with brains, looks and the know-how to charm the ladies would have no lack of potential bed mates. A fact that had Sirius laughing at his little brother more than once, if only because he found the fact Richard had chosen to go French rather than stay in the UK just so he had a better selection of the ladies to woo hilarious.

Lily found her resistance to the idea drying up. Richard was certainly handsome and far more charming than James.

"Now, what _exactly_ did the doctors tell you about the condition? I might be able to do _something_ about it if it's not too serious."

"They said that the 'seeds' I sent in for testing were too damaged...that only one of them would have been viable and that the odds of Lily getting pregnant were very slim. And I know she got checked as well... she's healthy and there's nothing wrong with her," said James nervously.

Richard sighed.

"There's no guarantee using my Solar Fire will actually _help_. But there is no way I'm letting this issue get out. Not when the solution is simple enough. If nothing else then I'll do it for the family...so long as we make an arrangement regarding custody. My work is somewhat dangerous and not conductive to raising kids."

"That's fine. We were planning on raising him ourselves, with custody going to you immediately upon our death. The goblins have agreed to arrange a special one-time port key that will activate once our death is confirmed to take any child to a certain location for you to pick them up. You'll be given an artifact with a one-time spell so that you'll know they're there."

Richard nodded approvingly.

"So then you're okay with this idea?"

"I... I've always wanted children," said Lily, not looking him in the eye.

Richard wasn't too bad looking...far from it. He was far more handsome and dashing than James. There was this air of mystery and natural seduction about him that would have made any straight woman want to jump him. He also had a lot of real charm and the sort of calm aura that came from a man who knew damn well what he had and knew how to use it to make any woman beg for more.

Richard looked her in the eyes before he smiled with approval.

"Well at least I know my slow and sometimes dimwitted little brother has good taste in women. Honestly, I was afraid mother would have tried to match you up with one of our many, many cousins or something from the letters she kept sending," said Richard.

James shuddered.

"She almost _did_. I only managed to avoid that when she found out what Aunt Walburga was like after Sirius managed to escape to our house fifth year," said James. "She didn't want to give the old hag more ammo."

"Where is my favorite and considerably less dense little brother?" asked Richard.

Sirius gave the doggy equivalent of a laugh before he gave Richard a bear hug after transforming.

He had always adored Richard, who didn't take shit from anyone and seemed to glorify in pissing off the other pure bloods before the 'assumption' he was a squib came about. He remembered the rows his mother had with Walburga about his behavior...they were always entertaining to listen to.

Richard grinned as he hugged Sirius back.

As annoying as his little brothers could be, he loved them both dearly.

* * *

It was confirmed a month later... Lily was pregnant. Richard still had a job to do back in Italy, though they kept him apprised in secret. On July 31rst, his son was born.

Hadrian James Corvus Renato (Richard had accidentally let his 'muggle' identity slip) Potter was adored and loved by his family almost immediately. Richard managed to see him a few times, but never stayed long.

No one in the Order, not even Dumbledore, was aware that the eldest Potter was the father and not James.

Though apparently Richard's Soul Fire did some good... within a year and three months after having Harry it was confirmed she was pregnant again. This time with James' child.

Then the worst happened. Richard woke up one morning in November to find the ring under his shirt glowing an ominous yellow color.

He immediately made his way to one of the safe houses he had set up and never actually used. It was set up and maintained by house elves...it was actually one of the Potter villas in Italy.

There, crying with a fresh scar on his head, was his son.

Richard was pissed and once he was sure little Harry was sleeping properly and cared for by one of the nanny elves he hired just in case, was already putting out feelers to find out what the hell happened to his brothers and his sister.

James and Lily were dead. Sirius was arrested and about to be thrown in jail for his 'betrayal' and Remus was in the wind.

Richard looked over the crime scene photos and knew there was no way Pettigrew was actually dead. The bastard was a rat animagus and no explosion would make such a clean cut on his finger.

He sighed. He would have some work to do, and he had to find someone to take care of his son.

Shamal owed him a few favors. Besides, he wanted to make sure Hadrian came out with a clean bill of health before he took him to the healers to check that scar. No way that came about normally.

* * *

 _Back in England, three days later..._

Sirius felt like his life was about to end when he was suddenly attacked by a bucketful of ice cold water delivered to his face. He sputtered before he regained his senses.

"Richard, you bastard that was uncalled for!" he growled.

"You were having a grief induced psychotic break, you twit. Now shut up, the adults are talking and if you're lucky I'll be able to keep you from being sent into a very unpleasant time out for idiots," deadpanned Richard.

Sirius could only think of one kind of "time out" for someone his age and wisely shut up.

He idly noted Dumbledore distinctly did not look happy in the least to see Richard Potter there. Especially with a familiar scroll that Sirius could easily identify as Richard's copy of the will.

Thank Loki Richard insisted on being present when they cast the charm, if only so he could drop in on them later when things calmed down!

"As you can see here by this copy of the will, Sirius is the magically _bound_ godfather of 'Harry', and therefor cannot have sent the Dark Lord to his doorstep. Not if he wanted to _live_ at any rate. There is also the small matter of the fact that none of you blithering idiots have bothered to give him any Veritaserum, if only to find out the names of other 'Death Eaters' since you all clearly expect a man who ran to the Potters to the first chance and was adopted by them just to get away from his mother's ridiculous views of blood purity to be one himself," said Richard snidely.

The Minister sputtered, as did Barty Crouch Sr. from his spot on the bench.

Sirius looked very much like he wanted to laugh his ass off. Richard had always been very _Slytherin_ when it came to delivering his insults. It had baffled him that his older brother had gotten along with Snape of all people, to the point that Snape would actually have long chats with Richard when he could barely tolerate to be in the same vicinity of James.

The insult wars between them were both cringe worthy and well worth watching. He often came away with entire scrolls worth of some very impressive barbs to use on people he didn't like.

"He still killed Pettigrew and twelve muggles!" snapped Crouch.

"While I can believe he would go after Peter for the death of James and Lily, I highly doubt Sirius would go after _mundanes_ , you simpleton."

"Why would Black (she spat out the name like a curse) go after Pettigrew for their deaths?"

"Because Peter was the Secret Keeper, not Sirius," said Richard as if it were obvious. "The idiot suggested it since he was too obvious a target, and to hopefully cheer up Peter because they had unintentionally been excluding him for months. It was a way to show they still trusted him. I've already checked the house and the Fidilius charm is still firmly in effect."

Shocked silence.

"He still blew up the street!" said Crouch.

"Has anyone actually _checked_ to see if his wand was the one that cast it?" asked Richard pointedly.

The Aurors shifted nervously at that.

"For that matter, how do you know for a fact Peter is dead?"

"All that was left was his finger," said one toady, an idiot named Cornelius Fudge, if Richard remembered correctly.

"Then you've all been duped. If Sirius _had_ cast a charm to explode the gas pipes, then there would be more of Peter than simply a _finger_ ," said Richard snidely. "If you can produce the actual finger or even a photo of it I can tell you conclusively if he really is dead. If he isn't, then I fully intend to set a bounty on a certain rat."

One rookie Auror, likely from the Bones family, produced a photo. Richard thanked her, and the second he saw the photo he looked at the older Aurors in disgust.

"Are you all really so incompetent that you can't tell the difference between a finger that has been deliberately cut off rather than blown off?" he demanded. "The edges of the wound are far too clean to have been removed by the explosion, and if Peter were near the center of it, then there would be more pieces of him. He clearly intended to frame Sirius for his own crime since everyone would simply look at his last name and not bother to look at the evidence properly."

Several people shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"I believe," began Dumbledore at last, "That we should prove beyond reasonable doubt that Sirius did not in fact kill the Potters."

Within a few moments, Sirius voluntarily took the Veritaserum and proved his innocence. He also revealed pertinent information that could lead to Peter's arrest, namely that he took the form of a particularly fat brown rat...one that was now missing a toe.

Even if he had to register as an Animagus, that was a small price to pay.

The first thing Sirius did once they were out of the Ministry was to hug Richard tightly to the point his bones almost creaked.

"How did you know?"

"I knew something had gone wrong when Mipsy delivered Hadrian to me. I would have been here sooner except it took far too long to track down a certain idiot to babysit with the house elves watching. And when I find that werewolf of yours I am going to give him an earful. He should have been here to support you."

"Dumbledore had him on assignment for the past few months. He's been out of owl contact because he was trying to convince the werewolves not to join _him_."

"I swear that old fool has gone senile. First we are going to get you cleaned up, then I'm getting you some real clothes and not those ridiculous robes," said Richard. "And I intend to make sure none of the family ends up in Azkaban on a false charge like you almost did. If I saw the listing right, they intend to charge little Barty tomorrow morning."

Sirius cringed.

"I heard he might have been helping the Lestrange trio in what happened to the Longbottoms."

"What happened to Frank and Alice?" demanded Richard.

"It's better if you asked Augusta. Neville survived, but his parents... they were put under the Crucio for _hours_."

Richard looked pissed. While he could believe Bellatrix was part of something like that, he had great difficulty believing little Barty had a hand in it.

To say that he found it particularly satisfying to see the Wizangamot _cringe_ when he arrived at the trial was an understatement.

Barty looked openly relieved to see his favorite cousin there. Within a few hours, Barty walked somewhat free while the Lestrange trio was thrown into the deepest parts of Azkaban.

"Thank the gods you came. From the way _he_ was looking at me I have the feeling he would have thrown me in with them and locked away the keys!" said Barty with feeling.

Sure, he was banned from being part of the Ministry ever again, and he had to take an oath never to serve the Dark Lord or his forces, but that was a small price to pay.

"You're a bookworm, not someone who could stand to torture someone with a curse that requires you to actually _enjoy_ causing pain to others for several hours without throwing up," deadpanned Richard. "Besides, with how quick that bastard father of yours was to try and throw Sirius in without bothering to examine the evidence, it gave me a chance to really piss him off. Want to be a Potter rather than a Crouch?"

"Let me change my first name too and I'll be a bloody muggle if I have to," said Barty darkly.


	48. Bonds Across Time Chapter One

**Has minor Inuyasha elements to this, but is primarily a KHR fic. Also, "Tsukiyo" means "Moonlit Night".**

* * *

Tsukiyo Sawada absolutely horrible day was about to turn into something amazing. She just didn't know it yet.

She spotted several of her usual tormentors, all of whom were waiting to ambush her. Not that they really knew Tsukiyo was a girl...she had taken great pains to hide her gender for good reason.

Tsukiyo ducked past some brambles, not really caring about the fact it caught on her clothes. She was used to worse and her mother wouldn't ask. She never did, even when she came home with obvious bruises.

She cared more about her brother Tatsuya than she ever had her eldest.

Hearing voices behind her, she moved faster, until she suddenly tripped on a root she didn't see...and crashed right into an old forgotten well that was hidden. She braced herself for the inevitable crash...only to blink after several seconds passed and she didn't feel anything. Not even a thin layer of water or debris, which she had been expecting.

She dared to look up, and was very surprised to see a clear blue sky above her. Listening carefully for voices, it took her a moment to realize something was very wrong.

The constant background noise of cars, electricity and other signs of modern life were _missing_. All she could hear was bird song and the wind, and in the well she should have been able to hear _something_ at least.

Seeing a nearby vine, and hoping that the bullies weren't waiting outside the dry well for her to come out, she slowly began to climb up. It took her several tries, since she kept slipping, but eventually she managed it.

Only to stare in shock when she realized the brambles were completely missing and she couldn't see a single house in the area.

Further inspection via taking out her phone revealed that she had absolutely no cell signal, not even a blip on the WiFi.

Which was impossible because she had full bars when she found the well and there were at least three protected WiFi signals in the area.

What was going on?

Carefully getting out of the well, she put away her phone in the secure pocket she had sewn inside her pants. She slid it back into the protective casing that looked quite battered and had more than a few dents on it.

The foam inside the metal box was snug against the cell phone which insured that no matter how bad a fall it's owner took, the device wouldn't break. Her mother had bought it the first chance she could, since her daughter was so 'clumsy'. Between that and the hidden pocket, she had actually managed to keep a cell phone for a little over a year. It was a record, considering her bullies thought it great fun to damage her things simply because they could.

She had no idea where she was... this wasn't the Namimori she knew and she instinctively _knew_ that in this place she couldn't rely on Hibari-san to appear like a vengeful demon if things got out of hand.

Walking in a random direction, after discreetly marking which way she had gone with rocks she found on the path, she started to become concerned.

It was as she contemplated heading back to the well when it happened. Several thugs wearing period clothing (all patched and dirty) appeared and spotted her before she had a chance to duck out of sight.

"It's the fucking gaijin!"

She started at that... why on earth were they calling her a 'foreigner'? More to the point, why did they seem to recognize her when she had absolutely no idea where she was?

Recognizing the danger level was higher than normal, she bolted. She could hear the thugs behind her, and she had absolutely no doubt that if she was caught it would only end very, very badly for her.

Without warning a larger thug appeared before her...she couldn't stop in time, and ended up almost knocked out by a minor blow to the head. Considering all the hits and bruises she had taken over the years, it nearly made her pass out.

She made sure to go limp, as if it really had knocked her unconscious...she wasn't an idiot and she needed information. Not for the first time she was glad that puberty had yet to hit her with any real force. She could still be mistaken for a boy, unless they removed her pants.

From what she could make out (their Japanese was odd and very archaic for some reason) they believed her to be some "foreigner" by the name of Ieyasu that had recently moved in with one of the more prominent samurai families. The current head of which had brought his "foreign friends" to live with him despite the fact no one in town really wanted them around.

For the most part the "obvious gaijin" stayed out of everyone's way, but there was still a lot of friction.

Apparently they were going to rough her up and then ransom her to the family, since the clan was rather well off.

Tsukiyo kept quiet and did nothing to indicate that she was fully awake, though her head was still throbbing. She had worse aches before, so she knew if push came to shove she could easily bolt.

Keeping silent was her best course of action, though apparently the 'lead thug' was a bit unhappy that she was still 'out cold'.

She did wake up when her stomach started to growl, but they didn't bother to feed her anything. Not that she would have eaten it. She managed to sneak some of her snack from lunch behind their backs, glad that it was something she could eat _quietly_ , even if she had to hide the wrapper.

It was around that time that she heard people talking. Someone sounded both confused and very angry. Oddly, she felt a weird sense of safety and protection coming from outside.

There was a loud crash, followed by shouting.

She wanted to hide, but the way the thugs were positioned made it impossible to do so...they'd only drag her out if she did, she could tell.

The ramshackle door slammed open, revealing a man in yet another period outfit but this one far better made and wearing an odd straw hat that hid most of his features. She could tell he wasn't from Japan though... it was a rare person indeed who had _naturally_ blond hair in Japan and was usually a sign of mixed blood.

The man was fast, and didn't have any mercy for the thugs.

"Are you alright?" he asked, in accented Japanese.

He carefully tilted the hat long enough for her to get a good look at his face...and she promptly fainted from shock.

Because the man who had rescued her...looked almost identical to the face she saw in the mirror, save a few bits and pieces.

Due to her fainting spell she missed an identical look of shocked disbelief on his face.

* * *

Giotto was having a very weird day.

It had started out normally enough. He had gone out with the hat Asari had firmly suggested they all wear to hide their features to make the villagers tolerate their presence a bit easier, along with his favorite outfit.

Then around lunch he heard a weird rumor that the 'blond gaijin leader' had been captured by a local bandit gang that he kept meaning to deal with. Naturally the rumor caught his full attention so he went to investigate.

Apparently the idiots had caught someone who bore a resemblance to him and decided to hold them for ransom. He wasn't about to let some poor villager suffer as a hostage.

The thugs were _very_ surprised to see him, and he made quick work of them since he was already annoyed that they had a hostage.

One look at the person they kidnapped had him really pissed though. He could tell they were just a kid, though their outfit was a bit closer to what he used to see in Italy.

Probably why they assumed it was him in the first place.

"Are you alright?" he asked the kid, tilting his hat up to get a better look at their face...only to gape in shock when he registered what he was seeing.

The kid looked almost identical to him, with a few minor details. For one thing they had caramel colored hair instead of blond, and they were much younger than he was. Barely in their teens if he wasn't mistaken. They were also skinny, almost painfully so and barely able to reach his chin. Their skin tone was closer to the locals, but there was a clear hint of mixed blood. Their eyes were a warm brown that bordered on amber.

Their clothes though... they were both familiar and strange. The pants were a bit closer to what he used to wear before coming to Japan, and the shirt looked more like something he wore under a jacket complete with tie. Except if he wasn't mistaken he could clearly see the barest hints of a possible bust, meaning that this was a _girl_ wearing _men's_ clothing. The teen was feminine looking enough to be either a girl or a boy with very effeminate features.

Seeing the poor kid faint from the same shock he was experiencing...and probably from relief at the rescue, Giotto didn't even think twice. He picked them up and carried them out, and quickly revised his thought about their gender.

Definitely a young girl. One just becoming a young woman, from the looks of things.

What the hell happened to his ordinary day?

 _An hour later..._

Giotto eagerly awaited for the girl to wake up. It seemed her day was just as trying as his own.

Fortunately she didn't faint a second time upon realizing they had almost identical faces.

He smile at her and gently wrapped a little of his Sky around her body...only to fight back a frown when he felt something _blocking_ it. Was it possible she had a seal on her Flames or something? Asari had mentioned it was possible after he discovered how to create the Zero Point Breakthrough, but never went into details.

"Who... who are you?"

"Ieyasu. Sorry about that mess...those idiots thought you were me. Though now I can see why."

"T-Tsukiyo," she said shyly.

It took every ounce of manly willpower not to hug the stuffing out of her. She was too cute!

"So how did you end up here?"

"I fell into a well. Well, tripped, really. I thought I was going to hit some debris or water, but found myself in a dry well with a clear view of the sky when I had to go through several brambles to stumble across it, with trees blocking some of the view."

"An old well? You mean that one that is made from some special wood that has no water in it?" said Giotto incredulous.

Supposedly a soothsayer told Asari's clan to build it, despite the fact it wasn't anywhere _near_ water, around twenty years ago and it had sat there ever since to trick travelers.

Tsukiyo could only shrug helplessly.

"So why is a cute girl like you wearing boy's clothing?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I'd rather not talk about it," said Tsukiyo.

She really wouldn't. After making the mistake of looking up what "whore" meant shortly before puberty finally started to kick in, she had become extra paranoid of being alone around her bullies. Considering the general level of apathy when it came to the amount of harassment and bullying she endured from the adults, it was simply safer to run the risk of what Hibari might do to her for deliberately wearing the wrong uniform than what could happen if her worst bullies got ideas simply because of her gender.

As a result she never went _anywhere_ that wasn't regularly patrolled by the Disciplinary Committee or had plenty of witnesses.

Giotto gently patted her on the head.

"Would you be freaked out if I hugged you? You look like you really need it."

"I don't mind, since you asked first."

She wasn't quite prepared for the glomp, but there was a weird sort of furry feeling, like she was hugging a bit cat that wrapped around her. It was really nice and she found herself relaxing into it.

Giotto helped her up and walked her back to the well to see if they could find answers.

She looked down and thought she saw something of hers at the bottom.

Carefully dropping down, she was completely unprepared for the odd rush through her veins and the sudden return of sounds she had taken for granted.

Baffled, she found her bag on the ground and picked it up. Seeing a vine nearby, she went to climb it...and almost made it to the top before it broke off and she was sent tumbling back in.

Once again the familiar background sound disappeared, except this time she found a sturdy rope hanging from the side of the well.

"Are you alright?! You disappeared for a moment there," said Giotto in open concern.

Tsukiyo blinked, before realization hit her. Then she facepalmed as she realized what the well actually _was,_ or at least what it did.

She climbed up and looked at the well warily for a moment.

"I think this well allows me to travel between here and where I live," she said after a moment. Or more precisely _when_ she lived.

Giotto looked hopeful at that.

"Does that mean you'll come back?"

"Considering I have zero friends and very little reason to avoid this area, I would say so," she replied.

Giotto perked up hearing that. He was interested in finding out why she looked so much like him.


	49. Father and Son Chapter One

Xanxus had never really given much thought about his birth father. For a long time he had thought it was Timoteo, only to learn the hard, painful truth at the worst possible time.

Upon learning he was adopted, Xanxus had put the matter aside and never asked again. As the son of a whore, he knew that getting an actual ID on the guy was going to be next to impossible, especially considering the state his mother was in before he was taken from her.

He just never thought he'd come face to face with the man himself completely by accident, or the headaches it would spawn.

On the plus side, he wouldn't have to fear being bored for the coming months.

Xanxus was not in a good mood. The crappy car had broken down in some back-ass village in the middle of England and the repairs wouldn't be done for another two days. So he was stuck there until the car was fixed or one of his men came with a replacement.

He could suffer a lot of things, but gossipy idiots in the middle of nowhere pushed his last nerve, especially considering the looks that so-called priest was giving him.

Something about him was off and in a very bad way. Either he was one of those twisted fuckers who liked to dip into the choir boys, or he had some sort of dirty little secret that meant if it came out then the village would have a story to tell for _years_ once it broke out in hushed whispers, likely either destroying the church or giving foreboding warnings to the poor bastard who had to come in and re-sanctify the place.

Not his problem unless the fucker pissed him off enough or they paid him to throw his dirty secrets wide open.

He had settled in for the night, wanting to sleep until well into the morning.

Except some stupid fuck had to go and start shooting from the direction of the church and a bunch of horror movie zombie-rejects started coming out of the building after some stupid cops.

Of course his already shitty luck would insist on insuring he was present for whenever the big showdown happened and the priest was exposed for the sick fucker he was. At least he had some entertainment while he watched.

At least until the zombie-rejects broke into his room, intent on infecting him.

Fuck that shit.

His X-Guns sounded off into the night, except when he hit the fuckers, they stayed _down_. Considering they looked like zombies, he didn't bother with any shot unless it was to the head. Even he knew _that_ much zombie lore and it seemed to work.

After what seemed like hours, but was more like fifteen or twenty minutes of shooting any zombie stupid enough to rear their decaying, bloody heads near him, he found the annoying priest who

caused this mess and ruined his perfectly boring night.

"Fucking trash. Don't know what sort of weird fucking fetish you have with these zombie rejects, but you ruined a perfectly good night with this bullshit," said Xanxus, aiming his gun at them.

"Not one step closer, human! Not unless you want this little tart to die!" said the priest.

"She's a fucking cop. No skin off my back if some low-level flunkie ends up dead by a piece of fucking trash like you," Xanxus shot back without hesitation.

"Thanks a lot," snarked the blond with a rather impressive chest.

A few zombies tried to sneak up on him, but he blew their heads off without so much as turning while the other hand was leveled at the priest.

He was hungry, and pretty fucking pissed about wasting so much of his ammo on these rejects. It was going to take weeks to resupply and he'd have to listen to the miser brat bitch about the cost for _days_.

"Well this is unexpected," commented a voice from behind him. Xanxus wasn't stupid enough to take his attention off the fake priest, so instead angled his body so that he could look and still keep an eye on the fucker.

Only for Xanxus to nearly stop short, because he _knew_ that man. He had never seen the bastard before in his life, but he _knew_ him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Before the unknown man in red could say anything, the fake priest decided to use the distraction to kill them both.

Xanxus had just about had enough of this shit.

"You know what, fuck it."

He channeled his Wrath Flames into his guns and just started shooting. To hell with caring about witnesses, if the Vindice had a problem with it he'd kill them and be done with it. His night was already shitty enough as it was.

He wasn't the only one firing... the man in red was too. Xanxus briefly took a second or two to admire the hardware.

Whoever the man was, he had good taste in weapons.

The question he asked the police chick, however made Xanxus give him an odd look. What did it matter if the bitch was a virgin or not?

Seeing her bleed out, Xanxus checked for any more enemies. Oddly, they seemed to have disappeared with the fake priest. Then he noticed the other man bending down.

"You're not seriously planning to do her while she's bleeding out, are you?" he asked incredulous.

"Of course not," scoffed the other man. "Besides, there's a reason why I asked if she was untouched."

Seeing him feed the girl his blood of all things, Xanxus stared as he watched the massive wound in her chest start to heal over.

"What the fuck?"

The man stood up, and Xanxus noticed with some disbelief that his eyes were red. A very _familiar_ shade of red he normally only saw in the mirror.

"Who or what are you? And what the fuck was with the zombie rejects."

The other man snorted.

"The zombie-rejects as you call them are known as ghouls. People bitten by a vampire that aren't virgins, or were the same gender as the one who turned them. As for what I am..."

The man flashed a bit of fang, and there was an ominous glow in his eyes.

"I should think it obvious, considering I just healed the little Draculina with my blood."

"...You know what, fuck it. I am not drunk enough to deal with the supernatural bullshit on top of everything else," said Xanxus after a moment.

The man cackled.

* * *

 _Outside the police cordon..._

Integra thought it was a simple clean up...until Alucard walks out with not only a newly made vampire, but a survivor who bore a very strong resemblance to the vampire next to him.

"Walter...please tell me I'm imagining a younger version of Alucard with feathers in his hair and scarring on his face," said Integra, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I really wish I could," said Walter, just as horrified at the idea of Alucard _procreating_.

Alucard took one look at their expressions and grinned.

"Alucard, what the hell did you do?!" demanded Integra.

Alucard's grin was far too wide for her mental health. Except they were all distracted by the snort from the odd younger copy of him.

"Alucard, really? Who the fuck gave you a ridiculous name like that? At least come up with something original," he said with a slight accent.

"What's wrong with Alucard?" he asked.

The man gave Alucard an unimpressed look.

"It's Dracula spelled backwards," he deadpanned. "It's like calling a werewolf Lupine or 'Wolfie' for Christ's sake."

Alucard snorted at that. Integra and Walter's mellow was not helped, because the two men were far too similar for their sanity.

"Alucard, who is this?"

And why do you two look way too similar to be a coincidence, went unasked.

"The name's Xanxus. Stupid fuckers went and woke me up," said the younger red eyed man. "Not to mention wrecked my damn phone."

He looked at the remains of a fairly new cell phone with open annoyance. He was going to have to deal with a _lot_ of bitching from the miser brat.

Alucard grinned.

"Then I guess you're stuck with us until your ride gets here."

"Unless you have some damn good liquor, you can go screw yourself," scowled Xanxus.

Integra had a headache.

"VOI! What the hell, shitty boss?" demanded Squalo. He barely dodged the glass thrown at him.

"Shut up, shark trash," said Xanxus. He was clearly in a foul mood if the number of liquor bottles around him was any indication.

"So this is one of your lackeys? You have good taste," commented a voice from behind Squalo.

The Rain went to impale whatever stupid fucker tried to sneak up behind him, only to stop cold at the fact that the one doing it looked way too much like his boss to be a coincidence.

"Voi. What the fuck?"

Xanxus just looked pissed about something.

* * *

 _In Italy_

"Miser brat, what do you know about Vampires? And I don't mean the pop culture shit, but the real ones?" demanded Xanxus.

Mammon blinked and looked up from their accounting.

"This have anything to do with the number of bullets you used and the fact you lost your phone?"

"Some fucker started _'Night of the Living Dead'_ bullshit in the village I was stuck in. Then some asshole in red called Alucard came in and turned some police trash into a vampire."

Mammon had a pained expression on their face.

"Sounds like you had a run-in with the Hellsing organization. Alucard is the name of their pet vampire."

"Don't give a shit about that. I want to know why I _knew_ him despite the fact this is the first time I've run into him," said Xanxus.

"You knew him?" repeated Mammon.

"Took one look at him and I knew him from somewhere, despite the fact I've never seen him before that."

"Ushishishi... It's possible you're one of his children."

Xanxus turned to look at his unhinged Storm officer.

"What."

"A Master Vampire is one of the few who can sire half-vampire children without killing the mother in the process. Alucard is easily strong enough to pull something like that off and it's well known he has a habit of hiring hookers and prostitutes for a bit of fun, shishishi."

Mammon eyed their usual partner warily.

"How do you know about Alucard?"

"Ushishishi... Because I am a prince."

"Bullshit. What's the real reason?" demanded Xanxus.

"We have a Master vampire in my family bloodline. Grandfather wasn't too pleased at how easily Raziel was taken out and he considers being part of the Varia good experience in learning how to control my powers," replied Belphegor immediately. "Depending on who has the best control and kill count, I might get picked to take the throne over that idiot."

"...That explains far too much," muttered Mammon.

"There's an easy way to test if Boss is half-vampire," said Belphegor.

"How?" asked Xanxus.

Belphegor tossed him a blood bag. It was his blood type, which really made him suspicious as to why the prince trash had that on hand.

"If you're half-vampire, then drinking that would heal over minor wounds almost instantly. If you're not...well, at least you won't get blood poisoning."

Xanxus looked dubious about the whole thing, but called Lussuria in just in case. He wasn't _stupid_ after all.

He took out his boot knife and made a long cut down his left arm. It wasn't deep enough to require stitches, but it was enough to bleed freely. He looked at the blood bag warily, but decided to bite into it anyway.

The rush was like nothing he'd expected, and he noted that the cut began to almost steam, before the bleeding stopped. Belphegor looked very pleased and Lussuria was morbidly fascinated.

"Congrats Boss... You're half-vampire," said Belphegor happily.

He wasn't the only one with vampire blood in the Varia anymore.

"Mu. You're paying to clean up the blood," said Mammon annoyed.

Lussuria, eager to test out exactly what this new information meant, was rather surprised to learn that Xanxus could handle _every_ blood type without an ill effects. But that wasn't the part that made Xanxus happy about this revelation of his heritage.

For every bag he drained in the name of experimenting with his newfound heritage, the scarring on his body started to heal over. Armed with that knowledge and the fact that they had a few bags of blood about to expire within the week, Xanxus let loose and devoured two more of them before he felt oddly full.

Belphegor was rather pleased, all told, that his Sky was more like him than he initially realized. He found himself with the rather odd duty of teaching _Xanxus_ a few rules of 'etiquette' among the vampire and hybrid class that would make it easier to hide from the hunters.

If Xanxus really _was_ the son of Alucard, Hellsing's pet vampire, by way of the Master vampire's habits concerning loose women, that meant he was damn near royalty among the vampire class who had actual sense.

It also meant that he got extra points for serving the Boss, since his bloodline ran a bit thicker than Belphegor's own and it was perfectly acceptable for a 'lesser' hybrid to serve under a Damphir of good standing.

Too bad blood tests were more or less useless when it came to vampires. Their blood had a habit of mixing together, making identification impossible so long as they fed regularly.

However considering Xanxus had _recognized_ Alucard despite the fact he had never met the vampire, that was a pretty big sign that the Master Vampire was his sire...a fact that had several points in favor of it since Alucard was more inclined to sleep with hookers and not eat them later.

He was rather well known for saying with a cheeky smirk whenever the subject was brought up "Hookers are not food."


	50. A Dragon's Prerogative Chapter One

Vali was not in a good mood and it had almost everything to do with how amused that asshole Azazel was at his situation. How the hell was he supposed to know there was a teenage _girl_ in the dragon lands in the same general vicinity of the current Sekiryuutei and that she would take one look at him and fall under dragon charisma?!

Damn hormones. Damn Azazel for finding his dilemma _hilarious._ And damn his luck being so annoying that the _only_ person in two hundred miles who had any idea where the current Red Dragon Emperor was also happened to be the teenage girl with a ridiculous demand for the information.

Vali's face twitched.

"So just to be clear, if I want the information on the Sekiryuutei I have to play with you."

"Yup," chirped the girl.

"And what exactly does this 'play' involve?" asked Vali, already having a headache.

"Just try not to die or be maimed too badly that you can't play again later," said the girl with a far too chipper smile.

Wait, what?!

That was the _only_ warning Vali got before she tried to cave his head in with claws made of fire. There was a bright amber colored flame burning merrily on her forehead and her eyes seemed to glow the same color.

Azazel whistled in appreciation.

"It's been a while since I've seen Dying Will Flames used creatively like that, never mind _Sky_ flames. Try not to hurt the human girl too much," he commented.

"Wait, she's human?!" said Vali, dodging her attacks. Not even flight helped him in that regard...the orange fire allowed her to 'step' on air unaided to continue her attacks with glee. He was so calling bullshit on that!

"Dying Will Flames are only accessible to mostly humans. Only reason it's not more commonly known is because they keep getting snatched up or born into the human criminal underworld and they have some really pissy enforcers who are very strict on the secrecy thing. Once you awaken them, then you generally either end up in the criminal underground or killed off, no exceptions. Especially if you're a Sky like this little lady," explained Azazel cheerfully. "Of course there are exceptions... I bet the only reason she hasn't been snagged is because she's been living here."

Vali found himself respecting the _human_ girl a bit more than he had initially.

"Why challenge me then?" he asked her.

"Because I'm too strong for the hatchlings to play with except to practice their skills which is boring and the older ones only see my human heritage as a reason to hold back," she admitted honestly. "You have a dragon in you, and you're not really inclined to treat me like glass, hence why I was so eager to play with you."

Vali could respect that reasoning...if he had a lack of potential sparring partners to properly test his skills against, he would have gotten bored enough to challenge a complete stranger asking for something too!

A fierce smirk came across his face as he went after her with renewed intent. If she wanted to 'play' (read: beat the crap out of each other in the name of a good fight), then he would be more than happy to oblige her.

It was because his complete attention was on her that he missed the shorter newcomer who easily jumped onto Azazel's shoulder with amusement.

"It's a surprise to see you here."

"Vali wanted to fight the Sekiryuutei, but didn't think to ask what they were like before coming."

"Do you want to tell him or should we let him figure it out on his own?" commented the other figure with open amusement at that.

"Let him figure it out himself. If she's as much a battle junkie as he is then they're just as likely to end up in bed together when she's older as they are to try and kill each other," commented Azazel with glee. Vali _seriously_ needed to get laid. "So what are you doing here Fon?"

"Long story short, Ddraig managed to kidnap me and begged me to fix his mess," snorted the robed figure from Azazel's shoulder.

"Okay, I have to hear this story," said Azazel grinning wickedly.

Fon smirked.

"Some idiot went and tried to seal her flames, only it woke Ddraig up in the process. He couldn't exactly awaken without a trigger and you know how territorial dragons get...so the first chance he had, he tried to break the seal from within. Except it didn't go as planned and somehow his attempts shifted into him accidentally sending his host straight into the dragon realms where, after they got over laughing their scaly asses off at his situation, they took her in."

"I'm sensing there's more to this."

"She was barely six at the time," commented Fon.

Azazel winced at that.

"Naturally you can see how that could so easily backfire, and being raised by dragons caused her to take more after them than her own kind. So the second he found out where I was and that I was alone, Ddraig managed to convince her to kidnap me without any warning and bring me here and practically begged me to re-teach her how to be human since it would be far too dangerous for her to convert to dragon without some sort of buffer...such as being turned into a devil or an angel, for instance. Once I realized what she was, I agreed to help...it really didn't hurt that she has a natural knack for my preferred form of fighting and was an enthusiastic student," said Fon serenely. "Or it could have been the amusement factor of having to hear _Ddraig_ explain what puberty is to his host when she was more in tune with dragon maturation cycles which are entirely different."

Azazel snorted at that with open amusement.

"Looks like they're about wrapped up," he commented.

He had to hold back his amusement when, after Vali _finally_ managed to pin the girl down, she seized her chance and kissed him on the lips. He could see from where he was standing that her eyes were slit like a dragon's.

She might not have made the full conversion, but some parts of her were no longer human.

Vali's expression was _hilarious_ , to say the least...and the look on his face when Azazel calmly asked him "So how do you like the current Red Dragon Emperor?" had him breaking down laughing his ass off.

"Wait. _She's_..."

Azazel nodded, and Vali had this look on his face that the Fallen leader would treasure forever. Mostly because Fon was quick enough to catch multiple pictures of it on camera.

Vali eyed the tiny robed figure on Azazel's shoulder.

"Who are you?"

"Fon!" said the girl happily, scooping up the small man in red to cuddle with.

"He's from the human faction of the Triads, a neutral enforcer. Seven poor bastards get cursed once every thirty-five years or so into toddlers in order to maintain some balance," clarified Azazel. "Never really believed that to be honest, and I suspect some god or another got it in their head that the war between the three factions caused an upset in the natural order and is trying to correct it with a flawed system."

"That would explain so much. Ryuhime, did you wear yourself out?" asked Fon with open concern.

"I'm out of practice," she admitted, yawning.

Vali _almost_ felt guilty, but to be honest it was the most fun he had in a while. The fact she managed to hold her own until he pinned her _without_ the crutch of her Sacred Gear had caught his open interest.

"Well, since you're the one who wore her out, you get to carry her to whatever den she's made."

"Wait, _what_?" squawked Vali indignantly. Then he blinked at the odd wording. "Den?"

"Dragons live in dens, caves and other places where they can stash their hoards and hostages. As she has been raised for quite some time as a dragon hatchling since they had no idea how to raise a human child, she has picked up more than a few of their habits. However due to the fact that she is still quite young by even human standards and because the older ones aren't used to training humans for prolonged periods of time, her ability to defend a proper den has stagnated considerably. The fact she is exhausted means she won't be able to chase of any challengers for her temporary home," explained Fon from her arms. "She has mostly made due with taking shelter in areas too small for any dragon of age to challenge her for it to bother with."

With how arrogant dragons could be, those old enough to live on their own or even thought they were often targeted her first if they found her. She had gotten used to moving around multiple dens until the pecking order settled every time the general season it happened arrived.

While she _could_ fight using her Balance Breaker, her ability to get around was severely limited and most of the older dragons barely tolerated her presence to begin with. It was easier to slip around unnoticed until she was strong enough to prove her right to be there.

Vali grumbled at the amusement Azazel had about the entire situation, but scooped up the positively tiny girl into his arms. Fon settled back on Azazel's shoulder.

He would adamantly deny the blush on his face when the girl settled into his arms and ended up falling asleep without any fear or hesitation at all. Vali glared at the Fallen for smirking at the situation he was in.

Upon reaching the den (which was barely bigger than Azazel's apartment and had a narrow opening), he quickly put the girl down on the rather small 'nest' which had her curling up into a ball to retain warmth. The dragon lands was mostly covered in snow, as their internal heat allowed them to live in the almost inhospitable plains.

Fon covered her up with a nearby blanket, and she snuggled closer with a happy smile on her face.

"Any particular reason why you didn't tell me it was her?" demanded Vali.

"You didn't bother to ask what the current one was like before you all but demanded to fight them," said Azazel. He grinned. "Besides, you got a kiss from a very cute girl out of the deal."

Vali glared at him.

"So now what?"

"I would not be adverse to you showing up regularly to 'play' with Ryuhime," said Fon. "I am literally the only _human_ interaction she has since Ddraig refuses to open up a Dragon's Gate to where he took her from until the idiot who sealed her is found and eviscerated."

"Any idea who it is?" asked Azazel curiously. For Ddraig to have _not_ killed whoever pissed him off, the fool must be very well hidden. Or too annoying to get at easily.

"I have a few ideas," admitted Fon.

"...Would you be adverse to her coming with us?"

Mostly for the fun of seeing her around Vali. The kid had been getting more uptight and bitchy since he hit puberty.

"Considering who the boy is, not just yet. I am afraid that it's still too soon for her to return to 'society', especially since her habits are too deeply ingrained to readily get rid of. And there's the not-so-small issue of the fact that because she was taken from home so young she has almost no idea how to handle modern society or the social norms. Never mind how to use technology," said Fon, shaking his head.

Azazel rubbed his beard.

"And if we were to get her slowly acclimated to being around humans again?"

"If you could help ward a den properly against being found by outsiders it would help considerably. She's had to move around a lot and slowly letting her get used to others would do nicely."

"And I bet you know the perfect area, don't you?" said Azazel smirking at him. "Or you made one."

Fon didn't bother to deny it.

"I may or may not have been planning to introduce her to my grandson when I realized the rather difficult issue of her clashing with him over perceived territory. Kyouya is almost as bad as a dragon when it comes to a potential rival," admitted Fon. "However he might tolerate her presence long enough to become her first proper Guardian if I could trust that some fool wouldn't figure out that she's a Sky and attempt to kidnap her. The last thing she needs is a meeting with the Vindice because of how she was raised."

While he had little doubts how _that_ would end, he worried about how the Vindice would react to her Sacred Gear or the fact she had limited experience being around humans.


	51. Father and Son Chapter Two

At the pestering of Belphegor, who was very adamant about meeting the "Crimson Fucker" himself, Xanxus contacted Integra about possibly letting them join in on one of Alucard's clean up assignments. If only to give the new Draculina a higher chance of surviving since it was doubtful Alucard would bother to back her up unless he absolutely had to.

A full week after making that call, Integra gave them a call about a case in Ireland on the Protestant/Catholic border. Since they were already in the general area, they hitched a ride with Alucard and Seras.

"Shishishi... so you're the infamous Crimson Fucker. Grandfather is a large fan of some of your work. The way you splattered that blood back during the war with those hypocrites in Germany was positively inspiring," said Belphegor.

Alucard grinned at the obvious hybrid.

"Which line are you from?"

"Ushishishi... I am one of the potential heirs of the Carpathian throne. My brother always was a pathetic excuse of a prince. His human blood ran thicker than his vampire, and we were supposed to be twins," said Belphegor.

Alucard's grinned widened.

"How is old Salazar?"

"Um... Master?" asked Seras.

"How new is she?" asked Belphegor with interest.

"He turned her the same day we met, so very. Has she even drunk blood yet?" asked Xanxus.

"No, she's being rather stubborn in that respect," said Alucard dismissively.

"You talk as if vampire royalty is a thing," said Seras, confused.

"You live in England, for Christ's sake. Is the idea of a royal line based on a vampire lineage that hard to believe?" said Xanxus. Seras flushed embarrassed.

"Does she even know about the vampire hierarchy?" asked Belphegor dubiously.

"I've been more interested in getting her to actually _drink_ than go over specifics that we'll have centuries to deal with," said Alucard.

Seeing Xanxus was interested in hearing this, Alucard snorted.

"There's a vampire hierarchy?"

"In simple terms, yes. At the lowest of the low are the ghouls. Barely worthy of notice save for cannon fodder. Then there are the newly turned such as yourself. Vampires too new to have earned any real power and are still capable of rising in the pecking order. There's the trash vampires that you ran into in Cheddar and the two morons we killed last week. Low-level flunkies eager to make ghouls and cause all sorts of headaches simply because they're semi-strong and almost immortal. Then there's the one-trick ponies that are moderately useful, but are barely worth bothering with. That makes up the low-tier class."

"Mid-tier are the planners who can actually _use_ their powers and do more than simply use ghouls as their main attack force. That isn't to say they won't use them, it's just they have enough brains to use more than one kind of minion. They're almost impossible for humans to kill unless they're veterans at that sort of thing and can do far more damage than the low-tier class of flunkies," said Belphegor.

"So what tier are you then?" asked Seras.

"I'm a member of the higher tier, which is where the 'vampire nobility' reside. I have enough vampire blood in me to get several perks, and very few of the weaknesses, but not enough to get the more interesting powers save for one or two. If I impress grandfather enough, I may be allowed to partake in a ritual that will increase the amount of vampire blood naturally produced. Hybrids have several advantages compared to full vampires, particularly when it comes to holy barriers," said Belphegor.

"And where would I rank?" asked Xanxus. This was rather fascinating really.

"Roughly somewhere in the middle of the high nobility tier. Both because you're Alucard's son and because your Flames are naturally inclined to gather useful allies that are loyal to you. The fact you're not afraid to drink blood helps a lot, since it means your vampire powers are going to be at almost full capacity," said Belphegor without hesitation. "As a damphir, you get several of the abilities with a very select amount of the weaknesses attributed to most vampires."

"What's a Damphir?" asked Seras.

"Half human, half vampire," said Belphegor.

* * *

The hospital was like something out of a video game. Belphegor was having a grand time dicing up vampires left and right with his wires. Alucard had taken one look at the hybrid's fighting style and made a note to introduce the teen to Walter.

Xanxus was having a good time as well, destroying the ghouls with his Wrath Flames next to an amused Alucard.

"You know that's not normal soul fire, right?"

"What?" asked Xanxus.

"That's not regular soul fire. It's hellfire-augmented Sky Flames," said Alucard.

"...That explains so damn much," said Xanxus. Like why his Flames were having so much effect on these trash.

They managed to meet up with Seras and a happy Belphegor. Seras was in a blood rage, to the amusement of the Ripper Prince. So it was a shock when holy blades came out of nowhere and skewered her.

Xanxus was about to shoot whoever threw them...when his eyes widened in absolute shock.

"Father Anderson?" he said in disbelief.

The assailant paused, pushed up his glasses and peered in the gloom.

"What in the blood soaked Protestant hell are you doing here, Xanxus Vongola? And with your wee Storm at that?" demanded Anderson.

Belphegor scowled at that comment. He was not that small anymore!

"Ran into this fucker when some fake priest turned an entire village into zombies. Belphegor recognized him from the description and insisted on joining in on one of his clean up jobs, so they agreed to let us play. What are you doing here?"

Alucard eyed the two of them with an odd expression on his face. Seras gurgled as she tried to remove the blades.

"How do you two know each other?"

"Father Anderson is the one who baptized me when Nonna took me to my first service as a Vongola, and was the one who handled most of the confessions for the Varia until I was frozen. I still say that 'honor thy father' rule quit applying when the fucker wouldn't even let me go to Nonna's funeral," said Xanxus.

Alucard stared at him for several seconds.

"You're Catholic?"

"Yeah, what of it?" demanded Xanxus.

Rather than look horrified, Alucard started laughing his ass off. Hard.

Xanxus wasn't the only one confused by this reaction, if the look on Anderson's face was anything to go by.

"What's so funny?" demanded Xanxus.

"I'll explain it to you later," said Alucard, snickering.

Belphegor was snickering as well, especially since he knew the truth about Xanxus' heritage.

A half-vampire child of Alucard in heaven. It was certain to give whatever god was in charge of that place headaches!

Xanxus eyed the way Alucard and Anderson were looking at each other.

"Fuck it. I'm not fighting Father Anderson and we might as well clean out the rest of the trash while they're playing."

"You're a good lad Xanxus. But I've already killed the vampire who caused the mess," said Anderson.

"See you on Sunday when this is over?" asked Xanxus.

Anderson's smile was a bit _nicer_ than the one he gave Alucard.

"Of course!"

Xanxus easily slung the still bleeding Seras over his shoulder, though not before removing all the blades in her. Belphegor cheerfully followed his boss out of the building, amused at how easily he ripped off the barriers keeping the two vampires in.

Let Anderson play with Alucard without any distractions. It would be more fun for the both of them.

About fifteen minutes in to the massive fight, Integra showed up and took one look at Seras.

"What happened?"

"Father Anderson showed up and is playing with Alucard at the moment," said Xanxus blithely. "I want to know why the hell he never mentioned the Vatican plays with undead freaks when I have a castle full of bored assassins who need something to play with during the down times!"

Hell, after taking a good look at what the priest used as weapons Squalo was going to have a field day playing with the man! Why didn't anyone tell him the priest he trusted the most was a complete badass?!

"Shishishi...the Shark peasant is going to be so mad that Anderson never said anything about being a good fighter," said Belphegor.

"And I'm going to be the one who has to hear him whine!" bitched Xanxus.

Anderson flew out the window, but his grin was pretty telling. As was the cackling of Alucard heard immediately after.

"...Did your pet vampire just defenestrate Father Anderson?" asked Xanxus incredulous. Integra nodded slowly, as if in disbelief herself.

* * *

 _Sunday_

"Why didn't you tell me the Vatican regularly deals with vampires and other bullshit?" whined Xanxus.

"Ye never asked laddie!" laughed Anderson, once Xanxus had finished confession.

Xanxus pouted.

"Squalo wants to know if you're interested in a proper fight, ever since he heard you used swords," said Xanxus.

"I'll try to clear up me schedule then, for next week," promised Anderson. "Now is there any particular reason why that fanged bastard was laughing when he found out ye were Catholic?"

"Something about how god is going to have a migraine when I finally die, if only because he'd be dealing with me," said Xanxus.

More like Alucard had laughed his ass off at the fact that if his son died with his faith intact then there was a high chance he'd go into heaven instead of joining his father in hell. Not that hell would have bothered Xanxus anyway...vampires and their children got an automatic set of perks upon entry and could leave whenever they damn well felt like it once they reached certain power levels.

Something Xanxus was very close to reaching and just needed a few years of getting used to his vampire heritage to heal over the damage done by the Zero Point Breakthrough to pull off. The fact he wouldn't be stuck in hell if he did end up there was surprisingly comforting...even if it meant he'd never be able to take the Vongola name for himself.

It also meant that if he drank from his Elements there was a very, very high chance he'd be able to keep them with him forever. Drinking blood did more than feed a vampire, it tied _souls_ together. Odds were that his men would become very similar to the jackals that Alucard favored when he bothered to let loose.

Though it would require _massive_ amounts of blood to insure that it happened. Alucard wasn't entirely certain if donations over a long period of time would work, since most of his 'dogs' were added from one massive influx.

On the plus side, Integra was fine with Xanxus dropping by unannounced with Belphegor...mostly because they had very limited information on hybrids and half-blood vampires since hunters had a habit of either killing them when they blew their cover or converting them. That and having Xanxus around actually made Alucard behave just a little bit more, which was the main reason.

Xanxus passed on the message to an eager Squalo, who looked pleased at the idea of possibly having a decent fight with the priest the Varia favored.

Anderson wasn't always available, but he did make a point to come if the crisis of faith was bad enough.

No way in hell was Xanxus going to tell Anderson Alucard was actually his father. He wasn't _stupid_ , after all.

* * *

Belphegor was a little bored, but Walter had promised to show a few tricks to using his wires if he behaved while Alucard and Seras checked their new toys out.

The Prince wasn't sure what to make of the Hellsing butler. There was something off about him that said he was hiding something.

Hearing the sounds of battle above, his grin widened. Then it turned positively _evil_ when he realized what was going on.

"Ushishishi... the prince gets to play~"

Some idiot was attacking the mansion with ghouls, which would almost certainly piss off Alucard as Integra had bribed the vampire to stay out of sight with a new TV with Netflix. If they got too loud he might get involved personally and let the Prince see a proper bloodbath.

A little known fact about hybrids...they were immune to being turned into ghouls so long as the blood ran thick enough in them. As one-quarter vampire, Belphegor could kill without restraint and not have to worry about being turned if bitten.

All it would do is piss him off and set off Prince the Ripper.

Belphegor snuck out of the room before Seras and Walter properly registered the first screams. Then again Seras had yet to drink, for some bizarre reason.

At this point Alucard was about ready to toss the Draculina to Xanxus for some real training in how to shoot, since she was still operating under _human_ parameters. A human missed because they were weak. A vampire only missed if they wanted to miss.

It was debatable if Alucard was really trying to set up Seras with Xanxus, or he just wanted to troll the Draculina since it had only taken his son a month to get used to the slightly altered lifestyle.

Fortunately there was already a market for blood wine, though Xanxus had rarely indulged in it since he thought he could only drink the ones with his blood type. With the revelation that he was half vampire, the miserly Mist kept the cabinet well stocked. It was much easier tracking down the high quality bottles when you didn't have to worry as much about accidentally suffering blood poisoning.

Belphegor grinned at the sight of so many ghouls.

"Shishishi...time for the prince to cut loose and _play!"_

Knives appeared in his hand, and soon flew through the air with wires attached.

It had been far too long since he got to have real fun without having to worry about clean up after. Best of all, ghouls were much harder to kill than regular humans which meant he got to use all sorts of tricks without having to hide his heritage.


	52. Strange Relations Chapter One

**Fate/Zero cross... BEWARE THE FLUFF!**

* * *

Where had it all gone wrong? He was just coming home from school by himself when he had been grabbed, and the scary men had threatened his mama if he didn't cooperate. Then he found himself thrown in a smelly sack and taken someplace away from Namimori, but still in Japan if the language was anything to go by.

For a day or two, things were scary but tolerable. Then it went off the deep end of the bad spectrum.

Tsuna had no idea what was going on, only that the big eyed man in the funny clothes was even worse news than the bad guys who had grabbed him and threatened his mama. He saw several other kids around his age all crying or looking outright terrified of the two men, and knew that these were the sort of people that the teachers warned them about in school.

Seeing the other children die in horrifying and gruesome ways, one by one, Tsuna knew that the odds of him surviving were next to zero. No one knew where he was, and he doubted his Mama would know where to look since he had been taken so far away. If she was even alive, considering some of the things the bad men said.

Inside Tsuna, the power that had been forcibly sealed away began to pulse erratically in response to his terror and the danger he was in.

Realizing the fact that _he_ was next, that power surged forward and shattered the seal holding it back to bits. The damage done to his soul was not insignificant, but in the face of death that mattered little in the long run.

The creepy man with the knife who looked almost normal was smiling in a way that would forever give Tsuna nightmares whenever the subject was brought up.

His fragile heart began to plead, even as he tried to back away from that man for someone, anyone to save him. To stop the man from completing whatever depraved act he planned to do.

Unlike the children before him, all of whom were dead, his wish was answered.

A circle appeared beneath him formed from his power and the power of the ritual that was currently taking place. His back began to heat up as a symbol formed across it in the form of six wings.

Tsuna closed his eyes and prayed to whatever god was listening that someone would come. He didn't care who it was, so long as it wasn't anyone like the duo before him.

"My name is Servant Avenger. I ask of you, are you my Master?" asked a voice that was far too sane to be from the two before him.

Tsuna opened his eyes.

There was a figure in a rather odd outfit, with long green hair and teal colored eyes. Eyes that were decidedly sane in comparison to the terrifying man and the bug-eyed one in the funny clothes.

Tsuna didn't know what was going on, but if saying yes meant that this person would save him then he didn't care about lying. He nodded quickly.

The green haired man scooped him up and blasted a hole in the ceiling. Tsuna held on for dear life, uncaring of the state of his clothes or what was going on. He had a funny feeling in his chest, and every part of him was telling him to trust the green haired man. That he would protect him and keep him safe.

The sheer stress of what had almost happened and shattering the seal on his power took a toll on his tiny six year old body. He passed out cold in the green haired man's arms.

* * *

 _Third POV_

Avenger, or rather Enkidu, looked at his tiny Master with some fondness. The child was a true innocent, having summoned the Servant with absolutely no idea of what was going on and merely being a victim caught up in a war far beyond his understanding. The boy was young, too young to be a proper participant and had summoned him purely out of survival.

He had untamed caramel colored locks that spiked around him almost like a mane, clothes dirty from the environment he had been kept in with the other unfortunate children and a far too small figure. If anything, the child almost looked like a little lion cub. His tiny hands were scrunched up, holding his outfit in a death grip as if terrified that Enkidu would leave him.

The sheer innocence that the little one gave off was only matched by the power lying in wait in his tiny body. For someone so small, he certainly had a lot of power behind him...even if it was untrained and felt like a blaze that had almost been smothered by something or some _one_ else. It burned merrily to his senses, and produced an odd sense of calm, of home to him.

Enkidu chuckled. Out of all the Masters that could have summoned him, it was an adorable little cub who should never have been involved in the first place. Not that he was complaining.

He gentle ran his hands through the little one's hair, and was a bit disappointed that the little one didn't purr or make any other cat noise.

The child stirred, and looked at him with the most adorable big brown eyes that almost glowed amber in the limited light.

"Hello little one. How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

The boy's lip trembled, before he latched himself so firmly around Enkidu's neck that it would be nearly impossible to remove him. The child began to cry, both in relief at the rescue and from the fear-laced adrenaline still firmly in him. Enkidu gently rubbed his back, letting him get it out.

When the tears dwindled into sniffles, the little one relaxed his grip a bit.

"Onii-san, who are you?" he asked, with all the curiosity of a small kitten.

"You may call me Enkidu, little kitten," he replied.

"I'm not a kitten! I'm a Tsuna!" he said pouting rather adorably.

Enkidu twitched. How exactly did he get a little Master who was was the embodiment of cute and adorable with the appearance of a little lion cub, especially with those big eyes? It made saying no to his face almost impossible!

The mental image of Gilgamesh trying to resist this little one in full adorable mode made Enkidu grin wickedly. He was sure the look on the King's face would have been hilarious as he tried (and failed) to resist the charms this little kitten had.

"Well Tsuna, can you tell me how you ended up in such a bad place?"

Tsuna flinched, but managed to get it out.

"Tsuna was returning home from school like a good boy when bad men grabbed me. They said they'd hurt mama if I didn't behave, so I didn't try to run...then they stuffed Tsuna in a sack and took him _really_ far away. Then the bug-eyed man appeared and had a really weird smile on his face...there was a lot of red and he took Tsuna to the bad place where the other kids were, except everyone was crying and scared," said Tsuna. "The other mean man did something really bad to the other kids, and they screamed really loud and scary."

Enkidu let the boy hug his neck. From the sound of things Caster had kidnapped the child a second time and his Master had done horrible things to the children they had taken.

Tsuna was far too young to be in this ritual, and from what little Enkidu knew of the Heaven's Feel, those who wished to relinquish their seals would go to the Church which was supposed to be neutral territory.

Enkidu stood up and made sure to hold his little Master securely.

First he needed to be sure that the Church was safe for his little Master.

* * *

Risei Kotomine had 'seen' many things, but a Servant waltzing into the Church bold as brass with a child in his arms in filthy clothing was not one of them. He could tell Kirei was already waiting in the side area just in case, fully prepared to act.

"This is neutral territory," he said evenly.

"I am aware of that," said the mystery Servant calmly. "However I refuse to allow my little Master to be caught up in a small scale war because of Caster's actions."

Risei froze at that.

"Your...master?" he repeated slowly.

The Servant tried to put the child down, but he refused to budge and only held onto his neck tighter.

Kirei came out from the side room cautiously.

"Are you saying that child is your Master?" he inquired slowly.

"I am Servant Avenger and I have little interest in the Grail. My only interest is to insure my little Master survives to the end of it," he said flatly. "I know the Church is where those who wish to abstain from the war are supposed to go, or should I find another place to take him?"

Because Enkidu could sense Gilgamesh was active in this war, and if the Church refused to allow him to guard the child then he would seek out his friend.

Risei slowly walked up to the boy in the Servant's arms. The closer he got, the easier it was to sense that the child did in fact have active Command Seals.

"I see. I will allow the boy to stay, but I will not allow violence towards any who come here," he said finally. It was clear the boy would refuse to allow the Servant to leave, and it meant that he wouldn't have to watch the child during the more active times of the war if the Servant behaved.

Kirei walked up to the child, and the boy looked at him curiously.

"Mister, your eyes are funny."

Kirei blinked at that.

"Funny how, my son?" he asked calmly.

"Funny. Not bad funny though," said the little one.

"Come on Tsuna, I'm sure you'd like to get out of those clothes," coaxed Avenger gently.

Tsuna, if that was the boy's name, wrinkled his nose at that but slowly released his hold around Avenger's neck. He looked at Kirei curiously, as if trying to figure something out.

Kirei calmly lead the two deeper into the church where the bathing area was. He would have to find some clothes for the boy as his outfit was covered in something rather foul and almost certainly needed to be either washed, or better yet burned.

Risei however kept Avenger back for a moment.

"You said that you rescued the child from Caster, and that he is responsible for your summons."

"I have no idea what Caster or his master were up to in that tunnel, but it was abundantly clear that whatever they were doing is something foul and unholy by any god's definition save the most depraved. Tsuna specifically mentioned there being other children with him, but by the time I was summoned they were almost certainly dead if what he said is true. I have no idea if he witnessed their final moments, but I can only hope that he had been spared that much. I was more interested in getting my little Master far from that place and away from Caster than doing more than a brief look to assess the situation," said Avenger.

Risei's mouth was in a frown. This was grim tidings, especially since the increased scrutiny due to the large number of murders and missing children. If Avenger was being truthful, and he sadly suspected he was, then Caster and his Master needed to be dealt with _immediately_. Not only was it a risk of the hidden world of Magi, but as a man of the cloth he could not condone such acts. Just the mere thought of his granddaughter Caren being one of the victims would have been enough to get him to act.

Avenger went to keep an eye on his Master. With any luck once the war was over, the child would be able to recover from such a traumatic experience.

There was something else though. Something about the boy made the older priest suspect that he would have to hand the child over to the Cosa Nostra, if the feeling he got off the boy was what he thought it was.

An unfortunate fate, but the rules were clear. Anyone with Active Flames were theirs.

* * *

Kirei was not good with children. Even he acknowledged that. So it was with some relief that he allowed Avenger to take over in watching the little boy clean up after his terrible experience. He kept half an ear out, though he didn't think there was any risk of Avenger trying something. If he truly were inclined to do so, odds were he wouldn't have brought the boy here in the first place.

He rummaged through the spare clothes until he found something roughly the appropriate size for a child as small as the little boy. Task complete, he left the offered clothes on the small stool in the bathroom, and went to the kitchens to make some food...only to find his father had beat him to it.

"You always make it too spicy," he complained.

Kirei frowned. Was it his fault he found food too bland without adding copious amounts of spice?

Tsuna came out looking rather sleepy, but perked up at the sight of the food. He managed to finish half his plate and most of the milk before crashing completely.

Avenger carried Tsuna to a small room in the back with a couch. As a Servant he didn't need to sleep and the boy was clear on his view of the matter if the death grip he had on the Servant's clothing was any indication.

With the unexpected additions sorted out for the night, Kirei went to report this incident to his teacher.

Gilgamesh had listened to the unexpected report from the interesting fool Kirei when the description of the odd Servant calling himself Avenger caught his full attention.

The child was of no concern to him, but the Servant fit the description of Enkidu almost to a 'T'.

If he reached out with his senses, he could just _barely_ feel the faintest hints of Enkidu. The fact they were present at all when he had felt nothing before was enough for him.

He would find out for himself if this little child was worthy of his attention. For now he would wait until Enkidu appeared before him.


	53. Demonic Jewels Chapter One

**Summoner AU, no crossover.**

* * *

When she first got her room assignment, she didn't understand why she kept getting looks of pity and sympathy from the older students.

Upon meeting her roommate/partner until next term, she understood.

Hibari Kyouya was a terrifying _legend_ in the Academy. Rumor had it that he had challenged the head of Discipline in his first week as a student _and won_. And that ever since he had been the one in charge of maintaining order and peace for the school.

Apparently that was a bit of a stretch. Hibari had gone after the poor man his first full day as a student, and refused to hand over the position since. Considering how...effective... he was at the job, the teachers couldn't really complain.

Ever since his original roommate graduated and went on to earn enough money to pay off his student loans, Hibari had gone through roommates and partners every single term without fail. It was to the point that the administrators were seriously considering giving him a single. She was the twenty-seventh student to be 'fortunate' (read: sacrificed) enough to have him as her roommate for three months.

Summoner dorms were far different compared to what most civilians immediately thought when they heard the word "shared dorm rooms". They were more like small studio apartments that shared the same floor space, as the Academy spared no expense with their summoners. Their job was a high risk one, after all.

The dorm 'rooms' had three bedrooms. Two for the summoners and a shared one for the demons, though it wasn't that rare for demons to share the same room as their summoner. There was a full kitchen, a small sunk in bath tub or a shower if you wanted privacy, and a decent sized shared living room with a table for eating near the kitchen...unless you felt like eating off the small bar with the stools next to it. And the pantry was expanded to hold at least a week's worth of food, two if you rationed properly with stasis seals on the entire thing so it never went bad.

Most summoners went to the great hall so they didn't have to cook, which was always open. After all, you didn't know when a summoner was getting off a late night study session and would need feeding.

Going into the living room with her small bag enchanted with all the usual space charms to make it bigger than it looked, she found it empty save for a small dragon next to the window, positioned perfectly to absorb all the sunlight possible.

The dragon was a very handsome specimen. He had ruby red scales that looked like fire in the sun, and wherever the sun hit his scales they sent a mini-light show around the room. Sadly the effect was marred by the fact that whoever owned the demon clearly wasn't taking care of it properly. She could see cracked scales from where she was standing next to what she assumed would lead to her room, and his talons were in desperate need of maintenance, to say nothing of the spikes along his back or the horns on his head.

Assuming the dragon was a demon familiar, she walked up to it. Deep black eyes opened up to look at her with amusement.

"Hello little one. Are you Kyouya's new roommate?"

"I'm the new sacrifice to keep the rule happy administrator from complaining that he doesn't have a roommate or partner," she said dryly. The dragon snorted with open amusement.

"Well at least you have a sense of humor. I swear the last ten were positively traumatized by his antics, with the way they bolted the first chance they could like skittish rabbits. Where are my manners. I am Fon, Kyouya's demon partner."

"Honoka, rookie Jewel Summoner, or I will be once I start classes," she replied with a polite bow. Fon's amusement was evident, as was the surprised delight in his face at how polite she was. "When was the last time your summoner bothered to do a basic health maintenance?"

"I'm afraid Kyouya was very displeased when I refused to let him send me home, so he has never really been inclined to 'care' for his summon properly. He barely skates on those classes with his familiars as it is," said Fon tiredly.

Honoka went into her bag and started looking for a few things. She had gotten several basic care kits for demons, because she had no idea what she would get and wanted to be prepared.

"Do you think he'll mind if I do it for him?"

Some summoners were _very_ territorial when it came to their partners and familiars. So much so that implying they weren't doing a proper job of caring for them was likely to get your head literally bitten off.

"I highly doubt he'll even care, much less notice. He takes better care of Hibird and Roll than he does with me. That boy is entirely too stubborn, something he got from his sire I'm afraid."

Honoka picked up one of the pillows and put it down next to her, before patting on it in clear invitation. Fon easily flew over and landed on it, with an expectant look on his face.

With the clear permission to continue, Honoka first took out the brush and began to slowly free the cracked and damaged scales. Fon made no indication of pain, but she knew that if left untreated it could hurt a lot. When she started to use the treated oil to encourage healthy scale growth, the small dragon was practically _purring_.

"You are very good at this," he said pleased, coiling around in her lap. He stretched this way and that so she could get all the spots, not just the visible ones.

"Demons are nicer than humans, so I picked up a few things," she admitted, rubbing in the oil until his hide shined properly. Fon was particularly wiggly by the end of it, with clear pleasure in his eyes from the treatment. The poor thing must have been very itchy.

He didn't even try to fight it when she started cleaning up his talons, calmly snipping and sharpening his claws until they could properly rend something to pieces with a single swipe. That took quite a bit longer since you had to be very careful not to cut too much off or sharpen too close to the blood vessels within. It was a very delicate balance to get the right sharpness.

She also cleaned his horns of the dirt and other unwanted growth, which was a delicate process as you had to be an experienced groomer to tell when you were too close to the actual horn.

He was practically a puddle of goo in her hands once she finished. She was slightly startled when he promptly wrapped himself around her neck like a strange scarf. He was like a hot water bottle against her skin, and it felt rather nice.

She went about cleaning up the couch and properly disposing of the left over scales and clippings. It was a good thing she had a habit of putting down a sheet first...it made clean up so much easier.

So it was only natural she failed to notice her roommate coming in.

"So you're the new herbivore they saddled me with," he said dismissively. He shot an odd Look at Fon, but said nothing at the way the dragon was acting.

"Ah. My name is Honoka, Hibari-sempai. I'm sorry if I offended you by taking care of your dragon, but there's no way I could have stood by and let him suffer from such itchy scales like that," she said apologetically.

Considering the amount of power she felt from Fon, odds were he could have taken himself to a groomer and had it done professionally without his summoner's agreement. Which made her suspect he was just as stubborn as Hibari was when it came to their pride.

If he was going to be that stubborn, then it was partially his fault that his scales, horns,s and talons had gotten that bad in the first place.

Hibari was clearly waiting for her to chastise his inability to care for the annoying dragon, and was mildly surprised when he heard none.

"Hmph. He can take care of himself, small animal."

Because between the big, amber-colored eyes, the caramel colored hair that was neither fashionable nor messy, and the aura that practically screamed "innocent kitten", she definitely fit his definition of a small animal that needed protecting.

Didn't mean he was going to take any of her sass though.

"I figured that much with the way he was able to change his size to make it easier to get to his scales. If anything he's just as stubborn as you are if he refused to simply go to one of the approved groomers when his scales started to itch," she replied dryly.

Hibari let out a snort of amusement at the look on Fon's face.

"I am a light sleeper, wake me and I will bite you to death," he warned her.

When he said nothing at the way Fon insisted on stealing the other free pillow on her bed to sleep on that night, she could only hope he didn't take offense to the fact his dragon liked her better.

* * *

The small animal in his domain was different from her predecessors. While she was polite and was a relatively considerate roommate, she didn't let the fact he was very unapproachable for a reason stop her from telling him no.

Case in point, when he attempted to dump all the annoying paperwork that came with being head of Discipline on her so he could take a nap. Fon had watched the entire scene with interest, as previous herbivores had jumped to complete it in the vain hopes he wouldn't bite them to death later if they earned his approval.

The small animal had twitched, likely because she had been pulling an all-night study session the day before and left the paperwork on her desk while she completed her homework. When he tried a more forceful approach, she continued to ignore him.

She then patiently waited for him to fall asleep...before calmly dumping a large amount of ice-cold water on him and informed him to do his own damn paperwork.

The show of spine and harmless retaliation to trying to order her around was amusing enough that he let it slide.

He never attempted to dump his paperwork on her twice. Clearly she wasn't like the other herbivores who were so quick to be cowed by him.

Even if the annoying dragon had apparently taken quite a shine to her, if the way he promptly curled himself around her neck like a scarf the first chance he got was any sign.

Honoka (no last name on record) was a strange small animal. Her mother had been kidnapped shortly before she came to the school, with no leads pending. Her father had been completely absent in her life, and supposedly her mother _had_ married him before conceiving her daughter.

According to all reports she was consistently bullied because of this and had developed an aversion to humans in general, preferring to spend time with the demons that visited with their summoners to the small inn. Her entry scores were rather impressive, and she had been given the rare Vongola scholarship. Her chosen electives were all geared towards a Jewel Summoner, which was one of the harder professions because the summoner had to take care of multiple demons, including familiars.

Very few were actually successful at it, preferring to use the art as a way to have a few back up demons just in case without having to waste time summoning them. The most famous and truly successful Jewel Summoner was Giotto Vongola.

Upon entering the school she was given the 'privilege' of being his human partner and roommate for the term.

All in all, the small kitten Fon had apparently taken a liking to was hardly very noteworthy. About the most interesting thing about her was the lack of real fear towards him or his bad moods...and the fact she was apparently a demon magnet. He had seen more than a few 'stray' demons lingering in her general area, and there had been a few more who had happily submitted to a proper grooming session when the chance arose.

At least she didn't wake him up during her study sessions with loud music.

"Would you be the least bit offended if I were to stay with the little kitten during class hours?" inquired Fon. "I find her presence relaxing, and I am quite bored."

Kyouya paused with the paperwork and looked at him oddly. Fon had never really taken to any of his previous "roommates". In fact Kyouya had come to regard the dragon as part of the furniture at this point.

So for him to want to spend time with the odd kitten that had come into his territory was unusual.

"Tch. Do what you want, annoying lizard."

Fon was rather pleased with this. Especially when Honoka did not dissuade him from the idea when he voiced it.

The next morning, Honoka left their shared room with an odd scarf around her neck, Fon happily curled against her.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

The teacher eyed one of her more studious charges. Honoka had been coming to class with an odd scarf around her neck, and she honestly feared the girl was trying to hide bruises from her roommate. Everyone knew the boy was quite vicious, but he had yet to physically harm one of his roommates save for minor trauma from close exposure to him in a bad mood.

Which was why she carefully had the girl stay after class, and upon closer inspection realized with some surprised that the 'scarf' was in fact a small red dragon of some power.

"Have you been summoning unsupervised, young lady? Familiar summoning is not until next term and only for those who have the basics down."

"No ma'am. This isn't one of my summons and I haven't acquired the necessary jewels to do so yet," said Honoka.

"Then where did you find this fellow?"

"He belongs to my roommate and asked if he could join me during classes since Hibari-san prefers to ignore him," replied Honoka.

Her eyebrows shot up in shock. _This_ was the infamous summon that Hibari had brought forth from the abyssal realms and refused to work with? The one that took up so much of his power that he was unable to summon a second partner and had to rely on his familiars? It was positively tiny.

"Is there a problem, miss?" inquired the demon from around her neck. That made a shiver of alarm go up her spine for more than one reason. Only the truly powerful demons could speak human while in their more conservative forms, and of those only a select handful had such a cultured tone that spoke of true intelligence that could match or even surpass that of a normal human.

"No, I was just worried. Students aren't allowed to summon until next term and considering her partner..."

"Kyouya knows better than to harm one of his roommates. He prefers to simply terrify them into leaving with his foul moods than deal with the paperwork," said the dragon with a snort.

Definitely one of the highest tier demons...no wonder Hibari had been unable to summon another demon partner with this one around. Familiars took much less power to maintain.

And it had apparently taken a liking to the tiny slip of a potential Jewel Summoner. This would either spell great things in her future, or end really, really badly.

Though if it was surreal realizing that the odd scarf was a high-level dragon demon around her neck, it was nothing compared to the sight of a significantly larger version of the beast purring with his head in her lap while she sat against his side while reading. It wasn't his full size, but it was very impressive since most didn't reach such a large size.


	54. Between Lies and Truth Chapter One

**Colonello is Harry fic**

* * *

Colonello is many things.

He is cheerful blond with blue eyes. He is a damn good sniper that has uncanny instincts. He was a natural at being a soldier that could lead and yet still follow orders, the sort of man any general would kill to have on their side in a fight. He has a major love of predatory birds of all sorts and a hatred for rats that bores on the obsessive. He is always smiling, always there to lend a hand even when you were too stubborn to admit you need help. He is an unbreakable rock you could rely on that for some insane reason had a massive crush on the demonic trainer known as Lal Mirch.

 _It really was true that if you assume a lie long enough, it would eventually become the truth,_ he would think tiredly.

Colonello was in reality nothing like the image he portrayed himself as.

He wasn't some natural soldier. He hated being caged by circumstances outside his control. Yeah, it was probably genetic that he'd fall for the _one_ woman who wouldn't give him the time of day, especially since he was one of her students. But he didn't regret it.

He was so below her league and he damn well knew it. Unlike his father, Colonello was content to watch from afar and wish for something better, rather than piss her off and ruin his chances forever.

If and when he had the chance to spark something better, he would take it. But until then the war-torn blond trained his ass off to hell and back to be better than he was the day before.

It was so ingrained in him to be a soldier that he had no idea how to be anything else.

He allowed the Rain to fall and the clouds above to gather in large dark groups so that the sky would forever be hidden.

He never wanted to remember that part of his past.

That bright orange fire would forever stay drowned by the rain clouds, if he had anything to say about it.

Just as the scars he had acquired would never be seen under all the glamour charms he had on them.

He was Colonello, goofball Rain Latent and damn good sniper. A man who had a massive crush on his demonic trainer.

He would not be that man again. He would rather assume the pleasant lie until it became the truth first.

* * *

It was a stupid accident that never should have happened. Lal didn't see the hole and promptly twisted her ankle when she stepped in and proceeded to trip on the root right after it.

Now she fully expected to wave off her comrades and have to bind the ankle herself. It was only a mile or two away from the lake where they were setting up camp.

Except... Colonello, the idiot blond who clearly had a thing for her despite the hell she put him through in the name of training didn't go on. He pulled off his personal bag and started digging through it without any hesitation...only to pull out a very well stocked first aid kit.

Lal stared.

"What do you think you're doing, idiota? You're not a medic! I can handle this myself!"

Something in Colonello's eyes stopped her cold from hitting him.

Tired resignation and haunted eyes were not what she was used to seeing. Colonello was the sort of fool who brushed off the crappiest day with a smile and a stupid laugh, brightening the room without any problems at all. He took the hits and did so with a smile.

The Colonello she was used to did _not_ have the haunted gaze of a war veteran who had survived hell and back, still struggling to find peace within himself.

Lal was dead silent as Colonello expertly examined her ankle before pulling out some water-proof bandages and wrapping it with a deft hand that spoke of experience...a _lot_ of experience.

He said nothing, just wrapped up her foot to the point she could walk on it with minimal pain.

"Soak it in the lake for about thirty minutes... the bandages should be fine for that long and not chafe," he said with a tone that spoke of personal experience.

"Not going to give me anything for it?" she snarked, mostly to hide how rattled she was.

Colonello blinked.

"A sprained ankle isn't that bad. A cold soak and staying off it for a day or two and you won't even notice it unless you move too hard or too long," he commented.

Lal couldn't help but feel as though he was subtly calling her a wuss for asking for something as simple as an ibuprofen or Tylenol for the inevitable swelling. But that couldn't right.

"You're telling me that despite the crap I put you through you don't even carry something as basic as Advil or Tylenol in that medic kit you brought?" she said incredulous.

Colonello's baffled look said volumes.

"Isn't that just for headaches?" he asked very confused.

She stared at him.

"Advil and Tylenol can be used to reduce swelling, fevers and muscle pain. How do you not know that?"

Colonello rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"If it really bothers you I can carry you to the meeting spot," he offered.

Lal threw a nearby rock at him and he dodged with expert ease.

She tested her foot once she got up, and to her surprise she barely even noticed the mild swelling of the ankle. Her idiot student actually knew what he was doing when it came to basic first aid.

It was almost enough to make her forget the look in his eyes while he did it, or the way he felt...off.

Lal kept observing Colonello, who took the ribbing of the other men with practiced ease. Now that she was looking for it, she realized something she had never noticed before.

Everything about Colonello was fake. Not in a way that was obvious, but more like it was something you had to be clued into before you realized it was there.

He played the friendly idiot, yet he kept everyone at arm's distance in a subtle way. He laughed, but it was completely hollow. It was just genuine enough to avoid being noticed as fake, but if you were actually paying attention you could tell there was something...off about the sound.

How did that old saying go?

Assume the lie long enough and one day it would become the truth?

She couldn't really remember, but looking at Colonello sure as hell brought it to mind. She just couldn't prove it.

Her ears perked up when she heard her name, so she discreetly listened in. Odds were one of the idiots had noticed her, but Colonello hadn't.

"You mean to tell me you played doctor with the woman you've been crushing on for ages and didn't try to make a move? Are you gay or something?!" said Jake, incredulous.

Colonello blinked.

"Why would I want to make a move on her when I was bandaging her foot?" he asked slowly, as if talking to an idiot.

"Come on! It was the perfect opening!" said Jake.

"You actually think that would have worked? I seriously doubt she would have been impressed with something as easy as wrapping a twisted ankle so she could properly walk on it long enough to get to the camp site," said Colonello.

Lal almost snorted, because he was entirely right in that she wouldn't have been that impressed with it. If anything she would have hit him if he tried to woo her while wrapping her ankle.

Jake groaned in mock disgust.

"God, you're so unbelievably dense! It's so obvious you like her yet you've never even made a _single_ move on her!"

Colonello let out an almost hollow laugh at that. It was clear that the others _knew_ something was wrong with it, but couldn't put their finger on what.

"Did it ever occur to you that I'm not stupid enough to waste my time trying to woo a woman who's likely seen it all before and wasn't impressed by it? I'm so below her league it's not even funny, and it's obvious she wouldn't date a student," said Colonello flatly. There was a well hidden hint of bitterness as he said that, which had Lal frowning openly.

"Did she say something to you?" asked Jake with open concern.

He wasn't the only one frowning.

"She didn't need to. She's been a trainer for what, five, six years now? She's one of the rare females on the base and she's constantly around more impressive guys than me. Anything I could do to impress has likely already been done by someone else and the fact she's still single says she's more interested in her career than dating. I'm not going to waste my time I could spend training to be a better soldier trying to impress someone who isn't ready for it," said Colonello flatly. "If I wanted to actually try to court her, I'd have a better shot at doing it when I've gone up a few ranks enough that we could stand as equals, rather than as her student."

Lal had to admit he was right. She wouldn't look at a student like that, not in a hundred years. If he were a bit closer to her in rank, then he'd have a shot, but right now?

She wouldn't give him the time of day.

"...Talk about cynical," said Jake. "Just hearing that shit makes me depressed."

"Why not go out and sow your oats with someone else then?" asked Gregorio. Everyone called him Greg though.

"Because I've been burned by a bad relationship before and I'd rather be in it for the long haul than risk some cheap fling that will only bite me in the ass later," Colonello shot back.

"Oh-ho, and now we hit the root of the matter! So your ex dumped you or something?"

"More like I was feeling claustrophobic in a very toxic relationship I was pressured into by everyone and their grandmother and left without saying goodbye. I'm just lucky her brothers actually liked me enough to consider me family long before that, otherwise I'd really be in for it," commented Colonello.

"Brothers as in plural?" said Jake.

"Six of them, though one of them died and another was put into a coma. She was the youngest and only girl too...and they are all red-heads with damn good aim."

Seeing the collective wince, Colonello snickered.

"Six older brothers and you were insane enough to date their youngest sister? Their poor mother."

"You kidding? Her twin brothers offered me a place to hide when I pissed her off, rather than give me the standard 'hurt our sister and you're a dead man' speech. She was a real spit fire," said Colonello grinning.

"So why'd you break it off?"

"To sum up a very boring story, I took a long look at my life and realized I was stuck in a rut dating a girl who could have passed for a very terrifying copy of my mother, according to the few pictures I have of her and multiple sources all stating the same thing. I ditched home and signed up for the military the next week. Odds are she'll try to shoot me for leaving like I did, but there was no way I was going to get talked into staying in that relationship," said Colonello with a shudder. "Took me way too long to realize I saw her more as a little sister than as girlfriend material."

"That is disturbing on way too many levels," said Jake with a shudder.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I was best friends with her youngest older brother for so long that by the time we were old enough to do anything the only feelings I had for her were familial, rather than romantic. I doubt she'd take it well that I mostly used her as a shield against my fans without realizing it."

She might have been sympathetic if he had done it on purpose, but he had done it without realizing for three long years.

As it was he was almost certain to be hexed to hell and back if and when he returned.

Which was why he was going to train his ass off so he could avoid most of it, hopefully long enough to reach a safe bolt hole which had a convenient place to explain why he left. Or until she calmed down.

Colonello winced at the idea.

Yeah, he was far safer getting his ass handed to him in training rather than face the irate witch he left behind, never mind her able and willing cohorts that would almost certainly have _words_ for him that would leave him a cringing mess.

"Why do you even like her anyway?" asked Greg.

Colonello's grin swiftly changed from tired and worn to sappy.

"What's not to like about her? She's a strong, confident woman who takes no shit from anyone and isn't the sort to be impressed by something as stupid as a bloodline, money or fame."

"Dude, you have to have better standards. She barely has any tits to speak of and her ass is flat as a board!" said Jake.

Lal privately marked Jake for an extra hellish training session for that. He had it coming.

"Who cares about that? The more 'attractive' a girl is, the higher the chance she's a total bitch or has way too high standards. I'd rather have a challenge I know will be worth it in the end, if only because the odds of her being tempted by some pretty face are next to nill. Give me loyalty over looks or money any day," said Colonello dismissively. "At least with the captain I know she has an actual personality, even if she is prickly as hell when she's embarrassed."

Lal didn't realize she was blushing at that. The worst part was that she _knew_ in her heart he was being entirely honest. He really could care less about things most men found important.

* * *

 _Later that night_

Lal was going to soak her foot in the lake again. Her ankle hadn't swollen too much thanks to the prompt and surprisingly competent treatment (she was going to slate Colonello for medic training... she suspected he was far more skilled at battle field first aid than he had let on previously), but it still throbbed enough to be very annoying. So much so that she couldn't fall into a proper sleep at the moment.

Outside of those on night watch, she was the only one up. Or so she thought.

Hearing sounds of splashing that came from someone in the lake, she investigated.

And found Colonello taking what could only be a cold bath with no issue at all.

She would openly admit that her student was a major looker. It made his crush on her more than slightly baffling, since he could easily get any girl he wanted. And yet he chose _her_ instead. A woman who wouldn't even consider him a potential lover any time soon.

There was something odd about his eyes and it wasn't the look in them. He felt far more...open...than she could recall. He was relatively alone and no one was likely to stumble across him anytime soon.

Then it hit her when he briefly looked to the shore.

She was used to his eyes being a vibrant shade she could only compare to the gemstone lapis lazuli, or perhaps an attractive shade of sapphire.

But his eyes right now were a vibrant emerald green that reminded her of a cat, or perhaps a predatory bird.

Did Colonello wear contacts? Why? His eyes were quite beautiful and it was increasingly difficult for her to turn her own away. There was something deep and haunting about them, like he could peer into your very soul and strip away the barriers you had around yourself, even those you didn't know where there.

He saw _you_ , not the mask you put around yourself and it was very unnerving when he did it.

Lal almost shivered when those green eyes passed over where she was hiding. Almost like he could sense she was there, but couldn't really see where she was.

She had the feeling she would see more if he didn't. And she was right.

Colonello dismissed the presence, before turning his back to her and going for a bit of a swim.

Lal frowned when under the moonlight she caught sight of several old scars. Some of which were very odd, like the circular ones that went down his back in a curved line to just above one of his kidneys. Like he had gotten clipped by something. There was also a bit of a sunken in spot on his right arm, as if someone had sank a circular object into it and taken a chunk...it was very old though, so he had to have been a kid when he got it.

Without the headband, she could clearly see a faded scar on his forehead in a very peculiar shape. It almost looked like a bolt of lightning of all things, but she could just barely make it out so she couldn't be sure.

Colonello was toned, but still managed to maintain a runner's build. What little mass he had was almost pure muscle, and Lal had to squirm as she cast her eyes down the rest of him.

It looked like he had every reason to be confident in himself, with something like that. He'd make any woman he dated very happy, she could tell. Besides, she knew personally how much stamina he had...Colonello was always the last to run out of energy when she put the trainees through the hellish obstacle courses, even if he never finished first.

She always made him do extra runs if he pissed her off.

She would be the first to admit she would be hard pressed to do better. Colonello was realistic about his chances with her and wasn't wasting his time on foolish attempts to court her while he was in training. He had patience to wait, to find out what would work and then would likely exploit it.

But there was still something holding her back. That haunted look in his eyes bothered the hell out of her and she wouldn't let it go until she figured out what caused it.


	55. The Fire-Eyed Princess Chapter One

**Sorry folks, real life sucks. So to make it up to you have a story where Arcueid from _Tsukihime_ is given amnesia and turned into Nana!**

* * *

"I...am going to kill that bastard!" snarled Nana.

"What's a bastard, Mama?"

"Someone who is going to be very, very dead as soon as I get my hands on them," said Nana sweetly.

The question was which fool was going to die first. Iemitsu for knocking her up, lying to her for years and then leaving her all alone to raise a kid... or that fanged annoyance that she called her grandfather that thought it was an absolutely hilarious prank to give her amnesia of all things and then dump her in this world with only a bare idea of how to be human?

Feeling the seal on her daughter's powers, the answer became quite obvious.

Iemitsu was a dead man if he ever stepped foot in her house again. She might be new to this mother thing, but there was no way she was going to let a mere _human_ dictate what was best for _her_ daughter!

Nana patted her daughter's head.

"Tsu-chan... how would you like to meet Mama's grandpa?" she said sweetly.

"Really Mama?" asked Tsukiyo, amber eyes wide.

"I really should contact grandfather and introduce you to him," said Nana, her smile more than a little terrifying.

 _In another dimension..._

Zelretch had a foreboding feeling. One that if it had been anyone else, would have been a precursor to _him_ in a trolling mood and ready to find some new victims to play with.

So when he got a message from Arcueid that she wanted to meet, he didn't think anything of it.

He quickly realized his error when he saw the little girl standing behind his adopted granddaughter. She could have passed for a five year old Arcueid with amber colored eyes, a slightly darker shade of blond, and radiating an aura that clearly stated she had the lineage of a True Ancestor, as opposed to a Dead Apostle Ancestor.

"Who's this little cutie?" asked Zelretch, already mentally preparing to run like hell and hope the White Princess wasn't in a mood to absolutely _murder_ him.

He was not that lucky. Fortunately she had other targets higher up in her 'must kill painfully and graphically' list.

"This is Tsukiyo. She's my _daughter_ ," said Arcueid smiling in a way that said if he ran he was a dead man many times over. And she wouldn't be quick about it.

"And the father?"

"He's on the _list_ , a name or two above yours," she said, with her 'smile' never disappearing.

Read: he's a dead man the next time he dared to show up.

"May I ask what happened?"

"You're the one who gave me amnesia and a basic understanding of how humans operate in their daily lives," said Arcueid flatly. "What did you _think_ would happen?"

To be fair, nothing. It wasn't like Arcueid really knew what sex was, though apparently some poor bastard took advantage of that fact and got her knocked up.

Zelretch winced.

"Do you have the father's name?"

"Iemitsu Sawada."

Zelretch stared, first at her, then at Tsukiyo with far greater interest. And then, to the horror of anyone within earshot who heard it, he began to _laugh_.

Oh the chaos from this was going to be _glorious_!

"You know something," said Arcueid suspiciously.

"Depends on which version I stuck you in. In most of them all the heirs before her die or are invalidated because they aren't bloodline, and she ends up with a pint sized home tutor that drags her into all sorts of things in the name of training. A very low-level troll, to be honest," said Zelretch.

Arcueid was _not_ happy.

"Are you telling me that arrogant human is going to try and claim her after he basically kicked her out of the family with a seal?" she growled.

"Relax, he rarely returns home to 'protect' his family and at most we can hypnotize him until the tutor arrives. And if not, well it's not like they were going to miss her much anyway," said Zelretch dismissively.

In short he was absolutely going to corrupt Arcueid's daughter for maximum amusement. A pity she couldn't claim the Brunestrud name until she was old enough to manifest that particular ability.

On an unrelated note, he was definitely going to avoid Merem and Altrouge until things cooled down. They were going to be pissed as hell when they found out one of his pranks got Arcueid knocked up.

* * *

Tsukiyo looked at Zelretch with wide, curious eyes. She was really far too innocent and cute looking for her own good, and if not for her heritage the world would have eaten her up. As it was she was going to have a _lot_ of protective uncles, aunts and cousins who would spoil her absolutely rotten...all while wanting HIS head on a pike.

Altrouge looked at the smaller version of Arcueid, before giving Zelretch a foul look.

"You didn't clone her did you?"

"Of course not. One is more than enough, thank you. I may have given her amnesia and dumped her in another world though, since she wanted to have the 'real' human experience," said Zelretch.

"...Your prank got her knocked up?" said Altrouge dangerously. She barely tolerated her 'sister', but this was a new low even for him.

"Pretty..." said Tsukiyo, staring at Altrouge intently.

Altrouge gave her an odd look, before glaring at Zelretch.

"You're a dead man three times over when this gets out."

Zelretch winced.

Altrouge bent down to the little girl.

"Hello little moon. I am your aunt," said Altrouge.

"Auntie?" said Tsukiyo, tilting her head. It took a considerable amount of effort not to squeal at the sight of such cuteness. Was Arcueid this adorable as a child too?

"Auntie, up?" asked Tsukiyo, holding her arms up in the universal sign of children everywhere who wanted to be picked up and held.

There was no defense against that look. Zelretch was already plotting on how to use this new development to his advantage...and preferably keep the bloodshed for Tsukiyo's heritage to a minimum.

"You're still a dead man," said Altrouge, letting the girl snuggle into the side of her neck.

Perhaps it would be safer to start working on a new Kaleidostick specifically made for someone of Tsukiyo's heritage? And a way to suppress any urge to drink blood until she was old enough to control it?

Zelretch had to admit, seeing all the bigger players who had regular contact with the White Princess or at least the 27 Dead Apostle ancestors cave to a six year old was downright hilarious.

No one was safe from Tsukiyo's looks, or her demands to be cuddled. Not even Primate Murder.

It was a pity they couldn't call her Tsukiyo Brunestrud _._ While she has the _potential_ to summon that particular power, she hasn't quite reached the level required to pull it off and not be overwhelmed by it.

* * *

 _Tsuki, age seven..._

Altrouge had a rather odd expression of pride on her face watching her niece rip apart a pedophile.

Considering the mess that came about from Arcueid being unaware of what she was, they had thought it best to insure her daughter knew very early on what she was capable of. There was no telling if she could turn someone, so Altrouge decided it was better to teach the little moon to actually _kill_ her prey before feeding, if the urge ever hit.

Tsukiyo's eyes were an odd mixture of amber and bloody red, and her fangs were still little more than baby teeth. She looked terrifyingly adorable, even with the blood dripping from her face.

"Good girl," said Altrouge, patting her head. Tsukiyo beamed at her aunt.

She let the tiny girl ride her piggyback style back to the meeting point. Zelretch had a few things that would help hide Tsukiyo's nature until she was bigger and able to do it herself.

"The little moon definitely has Arcueid's strength...she was able to rip apart a disgusting excuse for a human with no effort at all," said Altrouge, letting the girl down so she could run to her mother.

Arcueid beamed at her little girl and hugged her tightly. Tsukiyo happily nuzzled into her mama's hold. She was a bit different from how she was before, but she still loved Tsukiyo so that was okay. Even if her aunts, uncles and grandpa were all really weird, they were nice to her so she didn't mind that either.

Zelretch grinned, rather pleased with himself as he presented... a choker with a bell?

"What's that?" demanded Merem.

"This is a warning system and a way to suppress her vampire urges until she's older. If the bell starts to sound, that means her 'vampire' side is close to the surface and will likely murder anyone she doesn't see as 'allied' or 'family'," said Zelretch.

They had noticed early on while training the little one in her vampire powers that she sometimes got a bit...carried away. This was her first time trying to use her powers without holding back against "live prey", though because she was half True Ancestor there was no real telling if she would have the desire to feed on blood. The more human she behaved, the easier it would be for her to hide until she was strong enough to defend herself.

There was also the weird fact that she kept referring to herself as "Hime", and not Tsukiyo. Considering she had the habit of referring to herself in the third person (a cute habit they weren't entirely in the mood to break just yet) that was a pretty big sign.

So in the spirit of helping her control or at least hide her true nature, they allowed the secondary controlling 'personality' to form naturally. "Hime" had a much better control over her powers than Tsukiyo did and it would be a very unpleasant (and short lived) surprise for anyone stupid enough to try and read her mind.

Hime was a vicious, bloodthirsty little monster who could at least tell the difference between "acceptable prey" and "friends/family". Tsukiyo was a bright, innocent little thing that was 'untouched' by the darker side of life.

It was the perfect cover and no one would see Hime coming until she had already ripped their throats out. It was hilarious.

Zelretch cheerfully put the little bell on the white choker around Tsukiyo's neck. It fit well, but left plenty of room for adjustment and for her to grow. Considering the bell was made of rust-proof metal, she could even take a bath with it on.

Arcueid's eyes gleamed and she pulled something out to plop on her daughter's head. It was a pair of cat ears that perfectly matched Tsukiyo's natural hair color.

"Too cute!" she squealed. Tsukiyo looked like a little kitten with the bell and ears on. The little girl giggled and snuggled into her mother's arms a bit more.

"Just wait. Soon I'll have Kaleidostick Moon ready for her to play with! Magical Girl Tsukiyo-chan will be a thing! With cat ears installed!" said Zelretch with far too much glee.

Tsukiyo, to his open delight, was an easy convert to the wonder of the "magical girl" genre. As such she was all too happy to dress up in flashy, and often very frilly, outfits that often included animal parts.

And that was before you got into the fact that the 'magical wands' or other Mystic Items generally came with a little surprise, such as power boosts, finer control over her natural abilities, or general bombardment spells loaded.

It was probably a sign of the impending apocalypse on the world Tsukiyo was born in that Altrouge took _one_ look at the gleam Tsukiyo had upon unleashing untold amounts of destruction and then proceeded to kidnap her niece for some very amusing 'bonding time' in the name of blowing things up.

Zelretch could only hope that Tsukiyo's newly discovered love of blowing things up with an overkill-level of power was genetic, if only so he had even more chances to corrupt Arcueid's descendants.

He couldn't wait to see Tsukiyo figure out how to recreate the "Pink Befriending Beam of Doom" from that one series he loved. The idea of the "White Devil Incarnate" (this time almost literal, which really amused him) being unleashed on that poor, unsuspecting world was making him grin something fierce. It was almost worth having to dodge the irate Altrouge and Merem for getting Arcueid knocked up in the first place, because she wasn't nearly this fun as a kid.

* * *

They were out clearing out some annoying low-level Dead Apostle that _used_ to be a magus and an entire village full of ghouls when it happened.

The idiot former human went after Tsukiyo directly, and while the little girl managed to hold him back it was clear she was too inexperienced in her full power to kill him without taking serious bodily harm.

The man laughed cruelly, and in a fit of desperation, Tsukiyo latched onto the first thing she could while in complete "sync" with her alter ego Hime.

An aria she had never heard before, let alone used, came into her mind. Without knowing why or even what she was doing, she began to draw power and verbalize the words in her head.

She couldn't remember most of what happened after the last line was spoken...just that the man trying to kill her as well as the ghouls were all very dead and her aunt was looking at her with a strange mixture of pride and shock.

"Auntie?" she asked. Her body felt really worn and overheated.

"Well done little moon. Your mama is going to be really happy," said Altrouge, gently stroking her niece's hair, before easily lifting the girl onto her back. Tsukiyo nuzzled into her neck.

She completely missed the shocked expressions of her uncles and grandpa when Altrouge told them exactly what Tsukiyo had managed to manifest on a simple cleaning mission.

Hime would remember the aria, but for now that particular ability was out of the little girl's grasp. She wasn't strong enough to hold it as she was now.

On an unrelated note, she could now truthfully claim her name was Tsukiyo Brunestrud.

Her official title was the Fire-Eyed Princess of the Harmonic Flame. Not that she really cared, but now the movers and players of the secret worlds that knew of the True Ancestors and Dead Apostles would take her seriously as a threat. After all, only those who could manifest Millennium Castle Brunestrud could claim that as their surname and title.


	56. Corpse Cleaner Chapter One

"Another day, another dead body. Might as well get this over with," sighed a figure in front of the alley. "At least it's not the Varia again."

The figure was small and rather petite. He couldn't possibly be anywhere out of his teens, if that. However he got to work with the quiet efficiency of long practice. A _lot_ of long practice.

By the time he left the alleyway, the crime scene had been 'sanitized' that the odds of any decent forensic techs finding anything they could use in court were pretty much gone. Not only that, but the body itself was dumped far, far away from the jurisdiction of the local cops, and thus it was unlikely anyone would be able to pinpoint exactly where the body had been killed off.

Under the cap, tired honey colored eyes watched the road as they drove to the usual spot where they dumped bodies.

He often wondered exactly what god he had pissed off to make _this_ his life. He still had trouble figuring out how exactly he had stumbled into this sort of job in the first place.

It wasn't like he particularly _enjoyed_ moving corpses or destroyed evidence.

Dumping the corpse was annoying, but at least now he could take a steaming hot shower and relax...provided he didn't get another call out by the various hit men, assassins or general killers to clean up their mess.

It said a lot about his skills that he had the freaking _Varia_ on speed dial. Though he really didn't appreciate the fact Lussuria had apparently decided _he_ was the perfect person to force into helping him clean out _their_ rooms of "interesting corpses" when they were no longer attractive...or when Squalo demanded that they clean up after themselves.

He could do without knowing the Sun Officer's taste in fetish gear, thank you very much. Or worse, knowing what said gear was _used_ for after hearing a far too detailed explanation from said Sun.

His life, why?

It was with some relief that he drove up to the spot the client had indicated they wanted it dumped. Some famiglias had specific areas they wanted bodies disposed of (mostly because they had the cops who patrolled that area on the payroll) or they wanted something _special_ done with the corpse.

It said far too much about his life these days that he didn't even care about getting creative when it came to posing the bodies. Or that he now made it a habit to canvas the area for a few hours before he dealt with the security cameras and discreetly positioned the corpse before leaving the area.

He had a collection of some of his more...interesting jobs, as sad as that was.

As if it wasn't enough that he had the Varia _literally_ on speed dial during the slow weeks when he really needed the cash...he was far too familiar with the Varia as a whole, mostly because they made him clean out the castle of all the random corpses that piled up, up to and including Lussuria's private collection (on the plus side Squalo at least made the mook squads help him haul out the parts that failed to dissolve under Storm flames)... but he couldn't complain.

It was a job, and at least being on first name basis with the Varia Elite meant they would be less likely to actually take out a hit on him unless ordered by the Vongola main family. As in it had to come from Nono himself and they had to have concrete evidence he was an active threat to the famiglia in question.

Which wasn't likely to happen, if the odd looks they had given him after Lussuria bullied him into a free medical exam the one time he showed up with a minor flu was any indication. He didn't know why, just that they had apparently stumbled across something after they drew a bit of blood.

Maybe they knew his dad or something? He couldn't really see his mother as part of organized crime.

Once finished, he was about half-way to his current apartment when his phone rang. He wanted to cry... he was so close to a proper shower too!

The only reason he didn't let it go to voicemail was because of who was calling.

"Hello Squalo. Does the castle need another spring cleaning again?" asked Tsuna tiredly.

" _Voi. Just get off another job?"_ he asked with some sympathy. It wasn't much, but Tsuna would take what he could get.

"Yeah."

" _I've been getting one too many complaints about bodies in the castle. You interested in doing spring cleaning a bit early?"_

"I'm free at the moment. Tell Mammon I'm bringing my expense forms and spread sheets like they asked...took me forever to track them down."

" _Will do. See you in a few days brat."_

Tsuna hung up and sighed.

First things first, take a long hot shower, food, nap and then clean out the apartment of the essentials before starting the long drive to Varia territory.

At least they paid for living expenses while he was helping them clean the place. Even if staying in a castle full of crazies tended to make it difficult to sleep.

A few days later, Tsuna walked right in and went to find Squalo.

"Voi! Glad you're here brat. If I have to hear one more rookie whine about a dead body in their room..."

"Well look at the bright side. You get to point out that an almost civilian contractor who cleans up after them doesn't whine as much as they do about handling dead things and then throw them in the deep end with even more horrible training until they shut up about it," Tsuna snarked back.

Squalo's grin was positively evil and shark-like. After the first two times the kid had to deal with being in close contact with them, he had lost any fear he had of their habits. He was something close to a good friend who put up with your insane habits, which was far too difficult to find in their line of work.

"Mammon in?" asked Tsuna. He gave the Varia a flat rate for his help, and gave them a week's discount if Mammon could make sense of his books. Being a small business owner with no other employees was tough, but it was even worse when you were one that had regularly flunked math.

Considering he usually found the majority of said bodies within the week, Mammon didn't mind. At least Tsuna kept better track of his receipts than most of the mooks they had to deal with. Even if the boy didn't really have a head for money.

Tsuna could care less about how much he made so long as he was paid enough to deal with basic expenses. A fact that both amused and annoyed the Mist. He had built up quite the nest egg from all the little bonuses he kept getting for being efficient and keeping his mouth shut about what he was doing.

And he didn't even need to sell the collection he had started to get it either. He still didn't get why the mafia liked their rings so much.

Mammon accepted the file Tsuna had put together and waved him off. They would sort through his expense reports and balance his books later.

* * *

Tsuna was almost boneless with relief when Mammon commented that he could afford to hire an extra hand to help haul the bodies around full time. His back ached every time he got a big bruiser...those took forever to get into his van.

As such when he went to stock up on supplies, he was very surprised to find someone who could easily fit the bill of what he needed in a partner.

The silver-haired boy was clearly pricing out cleaning supplies, and had the markings of someone who liked to blow things up a lot. There was a slightly gaunt look to his face, as if he had to forgo regular eating in favor of his preferred weapon.

Likely a budding hit man, and not a very successful one either.

He wrote something in clumsy Italian (he could speak it fluently but his written one still needed a lot of work) along with his phone number.

While it hadn't been intentional, Tsuna _did_ have a name for himself in the underworld and his clients appreciated the fact that he told the varying famiglias when he was in their territory, if only so they could hire him.

Sometimes it was better to "know a guy" than hire professionals, and he was often "the guy" they called. The fact he was well known to be on good terms with the Varia really helped, since they had strong connections to the Vongola.

The silverette didn't even realize Tsuna had left the card in his pocket until much later, when he went to look for his spare lighter.

 _With Hayato..._

Hayato Gokudera was a budding hit man, one who had only recently earned a name for himself. It wasn't much, but at least it was out there now.

As such he was very confused as to why he found a card for a 'cleaning' service with a clumsily written note on the back that they were hiring extra help, along with a phone number.

Normally he would have dismissed it, but whoever had put that in his pocket had done so without his noticing, rather than rob him. More to the point he vaguely recognized the name.

Besides, cleaning meant free access to chemicals, which were a pain to get in decent quantities.

Perhaps it was fate that he ran into Shamal when he did.

"Wait... you found _his_ card in your pocket?" said Shamal incredulous.

"You know him?" asked Hayato.

"Only through word of mouth. Rumor has it that it's a one-man operation run by a kid about your age. He's good though... he goes in, removes the body and then does so much damage to the evidence on scene that the cops can't really trace it back to the one who did the hit. I even heard a rumor that the Varia hires him once or twice a year to clean the castle out of the dead bodies that tend to pile up...especially around the Sun Officer's personal rooms."

Hayato went wide eyed at that.

"He's personally hired by the _Varia_?" he said in shock.

Varia meant Vongola, Vongola meant that he would have a chance to make connections and possibly get a chance to enter the famiglia.

"Don't get your hopes up kid. From what I heard he mostly needs a hand to help haul dead bodies around and possibly sanitize the scene. Doesn't mean you'll get a chance to get your name out there," said Shamal.

"Yeah, but it still means easy access to chemicals and if I'm lucky he won't mind me slipping things into the bill for myself," said Hayato. "That plus a steady paycheck."

He needed the money, and to be honest this at least sounded like he'd have steady work and food to eat. Never mind the access to chemicals to make even more of his bombs with.

Shamal grimaced at that, but said nothing. He still paid for lunch, because he could tell Hayato needed it. He was good at surviving, but that didn't meant he was a proper street brat. And bombs, even home made ones like the one his former student used, did not come cheap.

Hayato debated on calling the number for all of a week, before he caved after his stomach complained one time too many.

If nothing else he could build up his stash of bombs and possibly a cushion until he could try his luck as a hit man again.

The sheer relief on the other end of the phone was a bit surprising, though not as much as actually meeting his potential boss.

The kid was a twig and looked like a fluffy cat.

"You're the guy who runs this operation?" said Hayato incredulous.

"I get that a lot," admitted Tsuna.

"But... you're just a kid!"

"A kid who dropped out of school at fourteen, managed to make it all the way to Italy on his own without any help and somehow ended cleaning up corpses and crime scenes and is now on a first name basis with _the_ top assassins in the underworld," said Tsuna patiently. "And don't ask me how I got into this business, because I'm still trying to remember how it happened and coming up short."

Hayato stared at him.

"So were you serious about that job?" he asked finally.

Tsuna pointed to a big bruiser of a thug. One that didn't have much brains to speak of.

"See that guy? Exactly how long do you think it would take me to haul him into a van in order to dispose of the body?"

"...I see your point."

Bodies, much like cold hard cash, were essentially dead weight. And Tsuna was positively tiny with not much muscle to speak of. It would take him an hour at least just to haul someone that big into a van, never mind getting the guy out again.

"So why me?"

"I saw the small tells that lead me to believe you're mafia raised, and from the way you were pricing out chemicals without having any of the signs of drug use, I suspected you would know how to mix the particular solution I use to sanitize scenes," said Tsuna shrugging. "Not to mention the fact I could tell you haven't been eating regularly, which means you would be open to an unusual job with a steady paycheck and not ask too many questions or gain a sudden case of loose lips around cops."

Hayato felt a bit of respect for the kid hearing that.

Mixing up chemicals to clean up scenes was well within his abilities, so long as he had a recipe to follow and the ingredients. And as a mafia raised brat, he had a natural inclination to avoid cops.

"How would you feel about me using the company as a way to get easy access to chemicals in order to make bombs?"

"I could care less about what you do with your paycheck so long as the cops don't come around asking why a couple of kids need restricted chemicals, especially since the job isn't entirely legal to begin with and I'm technically too young to drive," said Tsuna flatly.

Hayato perked up at that, and was relieved his potential boss didn't mind him using the company name to stock up on his own weapons.

"So do I have to sign a contract or what?"

"We're going to do a trial basis first, to see if you can stomach the work. Some people can handle the sight of the dead, some can't. Especially if it's one of Luss-nee's collection," said Tsuna with a grimace.

"Luss?"

"Lussuria, the Varia Sun officer. I used to have the worst nightmares about his collection the first time I had to help clean it out. Fortunately he doesn't mind what I do with them after so long as he doesn't have to hear Squalo bitch about cleaning his rooms again."

Tsuna's grin was positively devious.

"I find it's great stress release to dump _those_ bodies onto the lawns of people who have stiffed me at some point within the year in highly suggestive positions. I have an entire album with pictures, including ones that come from a long-range lens at their reaction."

Hayato grinned, before a thought occurred to him.

"Exactly how good are you at getting past security?" he asked.

"I'm good enough to the point Squalo has me hold classes with the rookies on how to clean up after themselves and to make sure they don't leave evidence behind. And I've left corpses in pretty public places without being caught before, including on fountains and the like."

"So if I wanted to leave a few horrifying and graphic bodies on my dad's front lawn for him to find and gag over..."

"Then I would be more than happy to help pose them for maximum effect for free so long as you agree to work for me," said Tsuna.

Hey, he had to find some humor in his disgusting job. Might as well have some fun with the dead.

Hayato, once he got over the somewhat gross nature of the job, found it rather soothing. The only real issue he had was how back-breaking it was to haul heavy corpses into the van, and Tsuna was pretty good about paying him a fair cut. If anything he gave Hayato extra whenever they were forced to deal with something too gross for words.

It was strange, how easily he fell in line behind the smaller, fluffy teen. Or how much easier it was to laugh at the look of pure relief on Tsuna's face the second he learned Hayato was decent at budgeting and didn't mind taking over his least favorite part of running a business.

Mammon was going to be happy... his books were a bit more organized now and with the addition of Hayato, Tsuna was able to demand better rates.

The Mist had despaired of the foolish boy living on 'charity', in their words.


	57. Perserverance Chapter One

**Sorry folks! Been raining like crazy lately and there's no way I'm getting out in that!**

* * *

If anyone asked Harry Potter how his day would go after that near fatal attack by two 'rogue' dementors, he would honestly claim he didn't expect _this._

Being locked in his room was annoying, but that swiftly turned to confusion when he saw the woman in his doorway. He didn't know what country her uniform was from, but everything about her screamed 'career military' to him.

This was the sort of woman who went in the military for the long haul and only thought of dating as an afterthought.

In short order he found himself bundled off into a rather discreet car with Hedwig's cage in the back seat (the owl was out making deliveries) and all his possessions in the boot.

The woman looked really familiar for some weird reason, but he couldn't really put his finger on why. He had never seen her before and she was rather distinctive.

It wasn't until they were halfway to London that he dared asked the question that had been bugging him since she appeared.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" he asked confused.

"I take it Sirius didn't give you a warning?" she asked.

He almost straightened at that. Knowing Sirius meant she was a witch and he was a bit leery of magicals after nearly dying from 'rogue' dementors. Strangely, he felt perfectly safe around her and he didn't know why.

Which only made his paranoia worse.

"Are you one of the watchers Dumbledore has around the house?" he asked suspiciously.

The woman grimaced.

"God no. I'm not with those idiots. Look it's hard to explain, but I'll try to make it easy. What do you know of your family?" she asked carefully.

"My parents died when I was a baby and you've seen my aunt."

"I can't believe that damn mutt is making _me_ explain this headache... he should have at least given you some warning about me..." she grumbled in irritation. "Do you know anything of your parents before that night?"

"No one tells me anything, except that my mother was good at charms, my father was a prankster and that I'm the spitting image of the man with my mother's eyes," said Harry flatly. "Outside of that, they always clam up as if that should be enough."

She sighed in open annoyance, then pulled over.

"Long story short I'm your older sister by about four or five years. Our parents sent me away because they had just graduated Hogwarts and I was born a week before the wedding. Since there was a civil war at the time and they were on the side against the idiot who had a habit of killing families down to the last child, I was sent to live with our cousins in Italy. I only learned the full story when I was sixteen, a few months before I claimed the Potter family rings that made me the current head of the family. Though from what I was told, Sirius made you _his_ heir since he's the current head of the Black family, so it's not like you're missing out on anything. It didn't hurt that their magic is predisposed towards men anyway."

"I... _what_?" said Harry in shock.

He had an older sister?!

"From what I understand they kept my existence a secret for security reasons...and because technically I was born out of wedlock since I came a week before the actual wedding took place. They were making arrangements to bring me back when they were killed, and only a select few were made aware I even existed," she said tiredly.

"Why didn't you come sooner?" Harry demanded.

"Because until a year and a half ago I had no idea I even _had_ a younger brother. I left the magical society behind the second I graduated and joined the military the next day," she said flatly. "I only recently got out of officer training school, which means I have time to get a house or apartment near the base since the regular soldiers have to sleep in the barracks."

Harry mentally tallied up the age difference to make her about nineteen or twenty. He didn't know a _thing_ about the military so her story did seem plausible.

"Where are we going?"

"Gringotts. We need to formally remove you from Hogwarts and set you up as a self-study student, as well as seal the English vaults until this mess is sorted out," she said promptly, and left no room for argument.

"What?!" he squawked.

His sister (and it was going to be really weird saying that word, even though something in his gut told him she was telling the truth) gave him a flat look.

"I may not have known of your existence, but that doesn't stop me from reading the back issues of the paper. You were _literally_ forced into a tournament that could have gotten you killed a dozen times over and not a single adult bothered to speak up on your behalf. Not to mention if even _half_ the 'adventures' that mutt told me are true, then you've been in mortal danger since you were _eleven_. Like hell am I going to let any family of mine suffer through that sort of death trap," she growled.

"But my friends..."

"There are such things as two-way mirrors or journals, brat," she said flatly. It was clear she was _not_ budgingon this issue. At all. "If your friendship is as strong as you think it is, it'll survive the three years away from them. Real friendship can withstand a long-distance relationship."

Harry though back to how Ron reacted to the entire tournament fiasco and winced. Somehow he had the feeling that particular friendship wouldn't last past the news that he was going to be removed from Hogwarts. Hermione was a toss-up, in all honesty.

Perhaps it would be better to stay in contact with the twins instead? He knew they liked him and he had practically cemented their loyalty when he gave them the start-up money to buy their own shop.

* * *

Lal Mirch was not happy. She could see the signs of abuse on her little brother and she didn't think it was _just_ from the crappy home she removed him from. Petunia had been all too happy to sign the papers and renounce any connection to her 'nephew', unaware that her niece was right in front of her. She didn't even care that Lal erased all memory of the visit.

Harry was far too thin, had a situational awareness that was bordering paranoia, and wore clothes that were clearly hand-me-downs from the fat pig who was her cousin.

With how emotionally trying today had been, she wasn't entirely shocked when he crashed and hard in the passenger seat. He clearly hadn't been sleeping well for a while now.

She booked a room in a hotel not too far from where the Leaky Cauldron was supposed to be and let the kid sleep off the shocks she had put him through the day.

The fact his owl showed up in the middle of the night helped. She took _one_ look at Lal before settling near her chick and taking a well deserved nap.

Lal took a look at the missives she was carrying, before ignoring them when they came up clean of any spells. Looks like no one had noticed he had been relocated yet.

Harry was a bit subdued the next morning, and it took an hour before he was properly awake...he seemed to be thrown off his usual schedule when he found out Lal had taken him to a hotel that provided free breakfast, which meant he didn't have to cook at all.

"Hedwig!" he said, once he was awake enough to notice.

"She came last night. Figured I'd read over your shoulder rather than open them without permission," said Lal.

Harry looked at her oddly, but at least she respected his privacy to an extent.

It was when he got to Sirius' letter that he stopped and looked at her from where she was standing.

"What's the Marauder's Code?" he asked seriously.

Lal rolled her eyes. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The words on the letter vanished to reveal a far different message.

 _Pup, odds are that when you're reading this Lilac will have already removed you from that house. You can trust her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your older sister sooner but I've been a bit more leery of Dumbledore since he's been keeping me locked up in my own house for 'security reasons'. You would honestly be better off disappearing for a while, since it's clear the old goat has no idea what the hell he's talking about if_ dementors _are showing up at a supposedly secure location._

 _Lily was already pregnant with your sister the day they graduated, but Charlus had her sent to live with the Merchant family for safety reasons because he didn't trust Dumbledore and wanted to insure the line continued. I've been keeping in touch with her since I ran into her shortly after I escaped with Buckbeak...it took some doing but she genuinely believes I'm innocent._

 _I wish I could have said something sooner, but considering where Dumbledore left you it was probably for the best she was raised in secret with your cousins._

 **Trust your sister _._**

Harry put the letter down. It was clear he was in a bit of shock at the moment.

"Your name is Lilac?" he asked.

"Most call me Lal Mirch. You know that anagram spell?" she asked, and Harry nodded. "Well my first try I got a result, but apparently I messed it up somehow because it came out 'Lal Mirch' rather than anything that remotely resembled Lilac Merchant, or even Lilac Potter. So I decided to run with it after I graduated to keep people from learning who I was...no offense, but that fame of yours is seriously annoying as hell to deal with."

She couldn't count the number of times she had to deal with idiot wizards trying to get into her pants because she was "Harry Potter's older sister", which made her head of the family. The fools actually believed getting on her good side would result in some of her brother's fame parceling out to them, despite the fact she never had a chance to meet him and had no idea where he was.

Lal took one look at the expression on his face, before making very sure he saw exactly what she was about to do. She hugged him awkwardly, because she wasn't exactly good at being 'nice'. It was a defensive mechanism to deal with idiots who wouldn't take a hint and leave her alone, or expected her to be some useless twit just because she was a woman _and_ the head of a noble family.

Joining the military was the best damn decision she had ever made and she would never regret it.

Harry appreciated it, especially since he knew she was planning to hug him first. He still flinched whenever someone tried to hug him without him knowing it first.

Though oddly the twins were able to get past that particular habit by the end of second year, when they had unofficially adopted him as the 'eighth Weasley' and started bringing him in on their pranks.

He was quite possibly the only one in Gryffindor who had never suffered one of their pranks.

Once they ate something (and Lal gave him a cap) they went to Gringotts to sort a few things out...like his schooling situation.

Harry left _that_ particular meeting with an odd look on his face.

"So...I'm a noble?"

" _We_ are nobility, little brother. To be more specific, I'm the head of the Potter family and you're due to become the head of the Blacks. Both are 'Ancient and Noble' houses, so it evens out since we are related to the Blacks through our paternal grandmother Dorea. It really doesn't hurt that the Black magicks are a bit more...male-oriented...than the Potter magicks."

Seeing she had his undivided attention, Lal easily fell into instructor mode all while subtly diverting the kid towards the mall. Like hell was her brother wearing those rags a day longer. Besides, she really needed to get his eyes checked. He was squinting far too much, even with the glasses.

"The Black family specializes in the really old school druid-type magic. Which means blood runes and sacrifices, never mind some of the...less than _friendly_ spells that can leave our enemies begging for mercy that will never come. When a Black wants to get revenge, they don't bother playing around with cheap spells like the Unforgivables... we're heavily encouraged to be more creative than _that_ ," said Lal. "The Potters though... the Potters were primarily spell research, curse breaking and warding. Or to sum it up another way, we're all insane treasure hunters without a lick of sense and bizarre luck out the ass."

Harry had to say it, he couldn't help himself.

"Does that make you Lara Croft?" he asked innocently.

Lal had a surprised grin on her face.

"Why yes, yes it does," she agreed cackling. Harry grinned at her, before registering where they were. "We're going shopping, runt. Then we're going to toss out all the clothes that don't fit and once we get clearance we're going to head back to where I live. I only have a week's leave to clear up your living situation anyway. And... how long have you had those glasses?"

"Aunt Petunia got them from the bargain bin when I was eight," said Harry.

Lal's eyes narrowed on him.

"You've never been to an eye doctor?"

"I've never been to a doctor, period except the time I broke my arm and the teachers sent me to have it set before calling the Dursleys to tell them what happened," said Harry without thinking. Something about his sister made him relax. Like he knew he was safe around her.

Lal growled.

"We are getting you new clothes, and then I am going to drag your ass to the eye doctors to get a proper prescription. I don't know what the fuck that horse-faced bitch was thinking, since even _idiots_ know that prescriptions change all the time especially when it comes to kids. You should have been visiting the eye doctor at _least_ once a year to get new glasses," she explained to him patiently.

"Really?" he said shocked.

"Eyes change as you grow, even if they don't change shape. With the way you're squinting it's clear you're wearing the wrong prescription and depending on what they say we might be able to get you contacts as well," said Lal.

He perked up at that. Fortunately Lal didn't give a damn what sort of clothes he picked, so long as they fit, were durable and were mostly appropriate. Then again, she had dragged him to an army surplus store, so it wasn't like there was much selection. She got a discount for being active military, though she had taken one look at the weapons on display and sniffed at them.

Harry wondered if she would be willing to give him combat training. He was tired of getting beaten up because he couldn't use magic.

He came out in clothes that actually fit, a pair of new combat boots much like the ones she was wearing, and a headband that easily hid his scar. Hats were too easy to knock off, and he liked the camouflage print this one had, even if it would be useless as such considering it was a bright red color.

The eye doctors was a real 'eye opener', and it was only Harry's comment that his sister had only recently learned about him that kept the man from calling the cops on her.

Not only was he wearing the wrong prescription, but the glasses had been giving him migraines for years because his eyes kept trying to adjust and couldn't.

They would be able to pick up his new glasses in three days...fortunately they had contacts with his prescription in stock, so he was able to toss his old pair into the trash.

The doctor looked at his old frames as if they had _personally_ offended him.

Harry on the other hand was looking all around him with new eyes, as everything seemed so much clearer than he could ever recall.

"Come on runt... let's get something to eat. I don't know about you but I'm starving," said Lal.

Harry nodded eagerly. Having an older sister was great!


	58. Chaos Fulcrum Chapter One

**Papa!Fon and adopted Ranma!  
**

* * *

Fon was merely passing by when he first heard it, and when he did he naturally went to investigate. It was the sound of a child, a young boy by the sound of it, crying out for help and for his father to come back.

Needless to say he was horrified and shocked upon discovering a boy about nine or ten years old in a pit full of very angry feral cats. It was clear the boy had tried to climb out but the walls were a bit too slippery and the only rope had broken. Considering it had rained last night, he must have been freezing.

Fon didn't even think twice about his reaction to the sight. He reached his hand down and the kid made a rather impressive jump and managed to grab it.

"Thanks. Stupid Pops didn't even bother to come back like he promised with a new rope," said the boy sourly.

Fon looked into the pit a bit closer and registered the presence of what _looked_ like fish sausages.

"Please for the love of all things sane and holy don't tell me your father was stupid enough to try and recreate the Cat Fist technique."

The boy tilted his head in surprise.

"You know about that? Pops keeps throwing me in here until I get that stupid technique down."

"It's not a proper martial arts technique," corrected Fon, his irritation and disgust showing. "It's little more than a bastardized way to create an unstable berserker and instill a very strong case of ailurophobia into the poor fools who are thrown in."

"What's..."

"Fear of cats," explained Fon. "Only a complete idiot would even _use_ this method as there are far more reliable and _sane_ methods of recreating it. What's your father's name?"

"Genma Saotome."

Fon twitched. If Genma was the boy's father, that would make this child...

"Your name is Ranma, isn't it? There's a large number of temples and dojos who would like to have a...word...with that dishonorable fool of a father you have."

Ranma looked at him hard.

"How do you know my name?"

"Anyone who is serious about martial arts knows about Genma and his master. Genma is not exactly well liked in our community, since he has a very bad habit of stealing techniques instead of earning them the proper way and anything of value he can get his greedy hands on. Never mind the amount of food taken. There's also something of a rumor that he has been selling his only son's hand in marriage repeatedly just to fill his stomach."

Ranma twitched now.

"You mean to tell me that fat jerk has been marrying me off to multiple girls just to fill his own fat stomach?" he said, pissed.

"When is he due back?" asked Fon.

"He left about noon yesterday, saying he'd bring back another rope since this one broke. Jerk left me in here all night even when it was pouring rain," said Ranma crossly.

It was at that point that Ranma's stomach reminded him how long it had been since he had eaten. Fon hid a smile behind his sleeve.

"I'm guessing Genma doesn't bother feeding you properly and claims it's training?" he asked with sympathy.

Ranma nodded.

"I'm getting better though! He can't find my hiding places for the food six times out of ten!"

"Your father is an idiot and has absolutely no idea how to train someone properly without losing his honor," deadpanned Fon. "Children, especially young martial artists need proper food and nutrition in order to reach their full potential. And your Chi, while fairly strong for your age, is an absolute mess. If I didn't know any better I'd swear the fool has been messing with pressure points with no idea of what he is doing."

Hearing Ranma's stomach growl again, Fon inwardly sighed. Judging by what he knew of Genma's nonexistent character, odds were he would be able to track them down with ease if they went to the nearest village.

Besides, turning the boy against his dishonorable fool of a father sounded like the perfect way to get back at that man for all the damage he was doing to the Art.

Ranma found himself basically kidnapped by the robed martial artist, not that he was complaining much when he saw the food and shower. And a proper set of clothes.

Fon had to twitch a bit at the boy's horrible table manners.

It was becoming increasingly apparent that Genma had done a number to his son's social skills and development, and not just the recent Neko-Ken foolishness.

 _The next morning_

Fon was rather pleased with himself. Upon seeing him perform some of the harder, much more advanced katas early in the morning before breakfast, Ranma had apparently decided he would rather earn his skills the _right_ way, rather than rely on Genma's half-assed training.

Fon had high hopes that with proper encouragement and positive reinforcement, he _might_ be able to break the worst habits the boy had.

That and constant relocation whenever even a hint of Genma being in the area. The last thing the poor kid needed was that idiot as a role model, especially if even a fraction of what Fon heard about the man selling his son's hand for was true.

"While my methods are a bit...harsh...they at least produce proper results, as compared to the half-baked ones your father put you through. I don't mind encouraging versatility when it comes to fighting styles, but if we visit a dojo or temple I expect you to earn the skills the correct way by asking the dojo master or senior apprentice to teach you," said Fon. "I am also going to teach you some basic manners."

"My manners are fine!"

Fon gave him a flat look.

"You behave and speak like a backwoods barbarian, and if you expect the older and wiser masters to treat you with actual respect, you need to learn how to act civilized, even if you don't actually _mean_ it."

Fon didn't see the point of mincing words, especially when bluntness was far more likely to get through to the boy.

Ranma sulked, but didn't argue.

"For now I'll do a basic assessment of your skill level in fighting. From what I can tell you're rather advanced for your age, but you could be so much better."

* * *

 _Ranma POV_

It was official. Master Fon was Ranma's new idol.

Genma would put him through insane training regimens that were lucky to produce real results within a reasonable time frame.

Fon though... Fon put him through the ringer learning the basics and showing Ranma _exactly_ why they were important while putting the muscles he had already developed into proper use. All while delivering odd barbs that sounded like they were straight from Confucius himself and that annoying as hell serene smile.

He couldn't count the number of times Fon laid him flat on his ass by using his ego and anger against him. And yet every time once he cooled off Ranma would be grinning like a madman because he realized he was learning under a _real_ Master of Martial Arts.

It had come as a nasty shock learning Master Fon hadn't been joking in the least about Genma's habit of promising Ranma's hand to random girls through their fathers just to fill his own stomach. Or worse, to get his greedy hands on their family scrolls with no intention of honoring his agreement.

At this point Ranma had some serious questions about his own honor, if only because of the sheer legal mess that was his marital status. He knew polygamy wasn't exactly _legal_ in most countries and the few places that would allow it usually required you to follow a specific religion. Never mind that he had never actually _met_ any of these girls and it was unfair to them to tie up their own love lives for something that might not even be real.

Ranma thought girls were okay, but it had taken several beat downs from some of the older female martial artists before he got it through his head that women were _nothing_ like what Genma claimed.

Though he found dark satisfaction when word quickly spread that Genma Saotome was a "misogynistic pig who didn't honor his agreements" among the female martial artists.

Ranma did have _one_ thing he would adamantly deny if asked though.

As Fon had feared upon learning he had gone through the Cat Fist "training", Ranma had developed a secondary protective personality when confronted with a cat. For the most part they avoided areas where felines could be readily found, but it was almost impossible to avoid them completely.

The one time he went 'cat', as Fon cheerfully called it, he had woken up to find himself acting as a purring lap cat, with Fon gently stroking his head much like one would pet a cat.

Fon had been amused beyond belief...and had hidden the blackmail photos so well that Ranma couldn't find even a hint of them. Though he would admit that it had felt good being in his master's lap like that, or that he had fallen back asleep with the strange feeling of being completely secure in the knowledge Fon would keep him safe from anyone trying to hurt him.

It had felt warm, comforting and nothing like how he felt around Genma.

Being a guy though, meant that Fon never said a word whenever he found himself curling up against the older martial artist. If this was what having a proper father figure was like, then clearly he had been missing out on a lot. Even if the school work and the language lessons left him with his brain feeling like mush.

* * *

"Ranma, what are you doing here?" asked Fon with exasperation. Though there was an undercurrent of fondness in his voice, so that meant he wasn't too annoyed.

"I already read the books you left and no one else can really keep up with me, so I followed ya," said Ranma cheekily.

Fon sighed, before gently ruffling the boy's head. Ranma could have been mistaken for a backwoods barbarian when Fon found him, but he had come a long way. At least now the boy could claim to have acceptable table manners, even if he was still a major glutton and his speech still needed work.

The boy wasn't a genius when it came to bookwork, but Fon wasn't above abusing his drive for martial arts to trick him into learning basic information that children and adults needed to properly thrive among society.

"If you were a normal child, I would tell you it's too dangerous," said Fon, shaking his head in amusement. "Instead I'll settle for keep your head down and try not to piss too many people off while I do my job."

Ranma grinned at him, but followed his teacher like a baby wolf learning from an older fox.

He knew that Fon didn't exactly have a legal job, and that the man had killed before. No one who was connected with the Triads was squeaky clean, and Fon was at least up front and honest about what he was.

As distasteful as Ranma found the fact that Fon used martial arts to kill people, he was still glad that the man had rescued him and decided he was worth the effort to train. Even if he had a lot of bad habits that had needed correcting in the beginning.

Fon completed his assignment, as irritating as it was, and easily warned off the lesser Triad boss that had noticed his student.

Ranma wasn't his formal apprentice, nor was he blood kin. At most he was a boy who had caught the passing interest of the Strongest Storm in Asia. He had no connections to the underworld or active Flames, just a stronger than average skill towards martial arts and a cocky attitude that could get him killed if he wasn't careful.

Which meant that there was very little leverage the Triads could use on Fon to force Ranma into anything. At best he was a potential hostage...if one wanted to risk incurring the wrath of a less than happy Fon down on their head.

Ranma kept his hands firmly to himself as Fon lead him around the somewhat crowded city. While he was a damn good pickpocket, and Fon did allow him to continue the practice as training since one never knew when it could come in handy...such as filching keys to handcuffs or doors for instance... he no longer felt the ever present need to steal from others just to fill his own stomach. Fon might make him work for his food in training, but unlike Genma he never truly starved him.

At most he got the bare minimum to keep his energy up, but that was it.

Ranma still found it amusing that Fon had managed to instill a desire to learn more than just martial arts...while abusing his drive to be the Best and turning his brain to mush by shooting questions at him during training. He found he rather liked reading, now that he could properly understand the written word.

As always, Ranma's stomach growled right as Fon lead them to a rather nice restaurant.

Fon chuckled.

"Since you managed to behave yourself, I suppose you do deserve a reward. Just remember..."

"Table manners and no one likes to watch me eat," repeated Ranma. "No stealing someone's food when we eat out, only when we're in training, and if someone annoys me too much then I have to be discreet when I use their food against them."

Fon was a good master, and Ranma loved the fact that he had _zero_ problems with little bouts of mischief when someone was ruining a perfectly good atmosphere when they were eating out. Which was rare, but still happened more than it did with Genma. At least with Fon, Ranma didn't have to worry about being chased after for a dine-and-dash and the places he picked had far tastier food to order.

Fon was rather pleased as well. Ranma's behavior had come a _long_ way from the uncivilized brat he had been.

The two ate in comfortable silence, with Fon mostly amused at the black hole that was Ranma's stomach. He didn't mind, as Ranma was still a growing boy and martial arts used up quite a bit of energy.

There was a reason why Fon usually chose restaurants that were cheap, but filling and didn't have any health code violations.

Though perhaps Fon should have expected a chaotic fulcrum such as Ranma to cause a scene the first time he followed him on a job.

Not only did some lower level Triad flunkies _recognize_ him, but they were also foolish enough to bring _guns_ to a restaurant and think he wouldn't retaliate for ruining a perfectly good evening.

"Ranma, I want you to get any civilians out while I deal with these fools...and if anyone tries to grab you or use you as a hostage, feel free to be as annoying as you want. If they're stupid enough to attack us in public like this, then their boss can pay for the hospital bills."

Ranma's grin was vicious. He gave Fon a two-fingered salute as he cheekily replied "You got it, Chichiue."

It took Fon a few seconds to register what Ranma called him, before a broad smile came across his face. He ruffled the boy's hair fondly.

"Go on, you little scamp."

He ignored the sounds of pain from the few idiots trying to use civilians as hostages, all while delivering his own punishment to the ones who had started firing in the first place.

He certainly hadn't expected the almost twelve-year-old to call him father, but he didn't mind. Though the fact the boy used the older, far more respectful and polite variant was a bit surprising.

Then again, perhaps not. Ranma clearly respected him far more than he ever had Genma and he did treat the boy more like a surrogate son than a younger brother. At the very least he was definitely a superior role model to that fat fool, who had either given up his son for dead in that pit or had no idea that his son had been saved by another martial artist in the area.

All the current reports of Genma's whereabouts put him firmly in Japan, and Fon had made very sure that the dishonorable fool was actually there.

As they left the restaurant, the two walked in silence...though a comfortable change had settled between them. Fon could easily accept the role of 'father' for the almost teenage boy, even if he had never sired a child himself.


	59. Reed on the Wind Chapter One

**Is currently on vacation, but will still update! Also, this is a Skull/Fem Harry pairing**

* * *

Green eyes watched with avid fascination as the stuntman defied death and not only did so without hesitation, but laughing. The stunts weren't too dissimilar to what she could get up to on a broom, much to certain people's dismay. She had to know if there was a chance he could teach her...the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The stuntman removed his helmet, making her blink a moment at the coloring before dismissing it. Purple was a color she could easily grow to like because she had no negative memories of it. Before she could say anything she noticed him favoring his shoulder. She _had_ noticed his last stunt was a tiny bit off, likely because he had bruised himself at some point but hadn't given himself time to recover.

She could relate.

Digging through her pouch, she walked up to him and handed him a small jar.

"What's this?"

"A medicine for the bruise on your shoulder," she replied simply. "I can see you're favoring it, but you're not in enough pain to make it overtly noticeable. And you were only slightly off on that last stunt, but not to the point that it was obvious you had an injury. So clearly it's just a bruise that hasn't _quite_ healed yet. Annoying, but easy to ignore."

He stared at her for a moment. Something seemed to pass between them, because he wilted just a little.

"It's actually across most of my back. I landed wrong while practicing another stunt, but the shoulder took the worst of it," he admitted. He eyed the jar in his hands speculatively. "Does this stuff really work?"

"Considering I have the recipe down to the point I could almost literally make it in my sleep, and I keep a healthy store of it, yes," she answered him bluntly. "Apply a decent coating over the affected area and let it sit for about thirty minutes to an hour depending on how deep the bruising it...it only alleviates bone bruises, but it's still better than nothing and it makes recovery time shorten significantly."

He looked her in the eyes, before coming to a decision.

"Skull," he said, holding out his hand.

She smiled at him.

"Call me Reed," she said, shaking it firmly.

"So you're good at making remedies?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Let's just say it's a subject I have a very...personal...interest in. What I want to know is how you were able to do that corkscrew while your body was twisted like a gymnast! And what sort of bike do you use?" she asked with open interest.

Skull stared, before a wide grin came across his face.

"How about I tell you over dinner?" He offered, grinning.

He could at least hope her 'personal interest' in learning how to make home remedies had more to do with the fact she was an adrenaline junkie like him, and not because of what he suspected.

Reed blushed for a moment, before smirking.

"Only if you let me pay," she said.

"A gentleman would never make a pretty girl like you pay! At least not for the first date," said Skull mock offended.

That blush doubled, making him wonder if anyone had bothered to flirt with her like this before.

As he quickly figured out, that was a 'no'. Which was quite baffling, as she was very pretty and seemed more like the type to be interested in clothes, not learning how to do dangerous, stupid stunts for the adrenaline fix. Despite her appearance, Reed was a down-to-earth tomboy with a healthy store of common sense and a distinct lack of fear. Skull watched her calmly handle a snake that appeared while they were heading to his spare bike without any hesitation or concern at all.

Which was surprising, considering he damn well knew that particular breed was venomous. Not lethally so, but it would definitely put you in the hospital a couple of days. Reed not only picked the thing up, but managed to find the nest which was thankfully empty of any more snakes.

It wasn't until they were done with dinner and heading back, after chatting happily for hours that Skull found out what she did with it.

"You _kept_ it?" he asked almost hysterically.

The snake had curled around her neck, and was clearly very comfortable if the happy hissing it let off was any indication.

"I'm immune to snake venom. I got bit by this really vicious one when I was twelve and nearly died, but I got the anti-venom in time. From what I can figure, my exposure to it caused my body to produce high levels of anti-venom any time a new one is introduced until it becomes inert...I got bitten by a rattlesnake some idiot had let loose from it's tank, and I didn't feel anything outside of a mild fever for about half an hour," she admitted.

Skull wanted to rip his hair out.

"But it doesn't _work_ that way!" he moaned. "Developing an immunity to something requires repeated exposure over time, not a one-time deal!"

"I chalked it up to my luck. Weird things like that happen all the time around me. Besides, how would the circus react if they knew this snake was around the camp, since from what I saw they intend to stick around a few days?"

"Either kill it or chase it off," said Skull without thinking.

"So long as he behaves, he can avoid that headache and go back to his den once the troupe moves on. Besides, I like snakes," she said, petting the reptile on his head.

Skull could accept that. It wasn't entirely fair to chase a poor snake out of his home because the humans were intruding in his territory and they were moving in a week anyway.

Something that made him rather unhappy, as he quickly grew to like Reed. She had a sharp wit, didn't mind it whenever he let his nervousness take over and he acted like an idiot, and she liked a lot of the things he did. Not to mention her remedies were very effective...the nasty bruise on his back and shoulder had all but disappeared when he used that jar she gave him.

So he was both surprised and happy when he found out she managed to get herself hired as the troupe's unofficial doctor/healer.

"What about your folks?" asked Skull.

Reed's expression went flat and Skull knew he wouldn't like the answer.

"My parents were murdered when I was barely a year and a half old and my aunt wouldn't care."

Skull winced.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he replied.

"It's okay. At least with you I not constantly reminded I lived when they didn't, or asked to give more than I receive," said Reed cryptically.

He had a nasty suspicion that there was more to that story than he would like, but considering he had already put his foot into it he kept his silence.

"Do you have a ride or a trailer? We'll need to get it hooked up with the caravan before we leave," said Skull, changing the subject.

"I can get an RV, but I have absolutely no idea how to drive it."

Skull latched onto that information.

"If you don't mind me hooking up my bikes to the RV, I can drive with you as the co-pilot. I usually hitch a ride with one of the others and we have to make space for at least one of the bikes," said Skull. There had been more than one occasion where he had to _drive_ the spare bike with the caravan since they couldn't fit it onto the trucks.

She perked up at the idea.

"I hope you don't mind the scent of herbs and flowers. Or large predatory birds," she said.

"If we have to we can leave a window open. Wait, what was that about large predatory birds?" said Skull, whipping his head to look at her.

She let out a piercing whistle, which caused more than a few heads to look their way. Then, to the collective shock of everyone an absolutely _gorgeous_ snow white owl with black flecks on their wings flew from one of the branches and calmly sat on Reed's closed fist. She had very intelligent eyes and easily transferred to Reed's shoulder, where she began to preen her hair.

"This is Hedwig," said Reed with pride.

Skull looked the owl over... it was very well taken care of and quite tame.

"Boy or girl? I've never really paid much attention to owls so I have no idea which is which," he asked with open interest.

"Girl."

"Well then she is absolutely gorgeous. She won't bite me will she?" asked Skull grinning.

"Just don't pull any feathers and you should be fine," said Reed.

She took his hand and showed him how to stroke the breast feathers, which had Hedwig coo, pleased with the attention. Reed beamed when she saw how fascinated Skull was with her owl.

On a whim, she relocated Hedwig to Skull's shoulder, which had him stiffen for a moment until the bird tried to put some order to his messy purple hair.

"She likes you," said Reed amused.

Skull let out a nervous laugh, but after a while forgot he had an owl on his shoulder to begin with.

* * *

Skull went with Reed to the dealership. Since she had no idea how to drive one, it was unlikely she knew whether she was being ripped off or not.

Finding out she could pay in full was a bit shocking, but learning she had a massive inheritance that she had no idea what to do with was a minor matter. It also explained why she didn't mind being paid so little by the troupe, since she had yet to make herself one of them.

She didn't need the money. She wanted a purpose and a place to belong.

It all added up to something that made Skull very pissed off to whoever it was that hurt her so badly. He really, really didn't want to confirm the abuse that he suspected.

Skull had to appreciate the sensible attitude Reed had. She completely bypassed the hi-tech crap and went straight to the far more reasonably priced ones that were much easier to maintain. She didn't need some monstrous big-screen or fancy do-dads to be happy. She just needed a space to live and work in peace that didn't look ostentatious.

Besides, if she drove up in one of those fancy RV's she would only ostracize herself from the troupe. It would look very out of place, and she'd never truly fit in. Most of the vehicles were at least ten years old, after all.

Skull eyed the modest 'two-bedroom' RV that had a modest built in kitchen, an actual bathroom with an acceptable-sized shower (small as hell, but Reed was rather petite so she'd be alright), two closets and a small space where you could put a living room and maybe a small flat screen on the wall. The top even had two emergency hatches, and the engine was in good working order. There was even a CD player in the driver's section.

In short it was basically a traveling apartment barely the length of a small limo and had an attachment that would allow him to hook up the spare bike to the back. Both of them, if they could get a proper trailer to hook to the back of the vehicle.

The only problem was that it was a bit pricey and trailers didn't come cheap.

"So this is the best one?" asked Reed.

"Yeah, but the price tag is a bit high for my tastes and there's only room for one of the bikes."

"We can get a trailer, if you know where to get one. I don't mind," said Reed.

"You sure?" asked Skull dubiously.

"We're going to be travel buddies, after all. Besides, I have absolutely no idea what's good and what's not when it comes to vehicles anyway," admitted Reed. "I might be able to figure out how to change a tire, but everything else..."

Mind made up, Skull went with her to haggle the price down. Reed was better at it than he was, to his surprise, but she didn't fight overly hard. How she managed to get a small trailer added into the final cost was a bit baffling, but it saved them the trouble of having to look.

Sitting behind the wheel of their newly acquired ride, with the trailer hitched to the back, Skull couldn't help but feel how surreal the situation was. He barely knew Reed at all and yet he had just gone shopping for the equivalent of a small traveling house with her.

And the weird thing was that he didn't really mind. It almost felt natural that they'd share space together, rather than claustrophobic like he was expecting.

It had caused more than a few frictions in the past... Skull _hated_ having to share long car rides and would ride his bike if the weather allowed.

So the fact he slipped into easy banter with Reed while sharing the same close space was a bit odd. And that wasn't even factoring in the pet owl and...

"He's coming with us?!"

That damn snake!

"He finds my body heat relaxing, and I can easily get a tank for him," she assured him. "I'm calling him Sycamore."

"...You're naming a snake after a tree? Is it because we found him close to a sycamore grove?" asked Skull baffled.

"Actually it's because sycamore in the Victorian flower language means 'reserve', 'curiosity' and 'woodland beauty'," she corrected him. "The fact we found him by a sycamore grove was just a happy coincidence."

"Do you know how to milk his fangs at least, in case of accidents?"

"I have a general idea. It's not that hard to look it up," said Reed easily.

"So what does reed mean?" asked Skull, pulling up to where the caravan was waiting.

"It's synonymous with music," said Reed easily. "It comes from Greek mythology when Pan chased after a fair nymph who pleaded the river for assistance in escaping him. The moment she touched the water she became a bed of reeds, which Pan cut down to make a set of pipes."

Skull grimaced at that.

"So instead of sleeping with her, he turned her into a musical instrument instead? Talk about graphic."

"If you think that's bad you should hear some of the other stories about the Greek and Roman pantheon," she said dryly. "Did you know Persephone is actually Hades' _niece_ and he still tricked her into marrying him? Or that if you look at Zeus' exploits from a different angle he could easily be seen as a serial rapist?"

Skull made a face. Then he looked at her oddly.

"How do you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I find reading more relaxing than television," she admitted. "I like music, but most shows tend to bore me or make me feel like my brain is rotting from how stupid they are."

It didn't help that she wasn't allowed to watch TV at all growing up, so she had to find other ways to distract herself. And hiding in the library for hours had encouraged a deep love of books.

She just didn't like obsessing over homework that would be forgotten about once she graduated anyway.

Skull finished tying down his bikes and making sure everything was secure, before coming back in. Reed had taken the chance to move in what little she had. Skull had given the medium sized trunk an odd look but didn't say anything.

"Ready to hit the road?" he grinned. This was always his favorite part, so long as he was able to drive.

"Absolutely," she said with a matching grin on her face.

That she didn't cast even a single glance behind her said volumes. Skull kept his silence as to his suspicions on why. It wasn't his place to ask, not yet.


	60. Corpse Cleaner Chapter Two

**Is now officially on Ao3 as SakuraDemonAlchemist. Look at the poll on my profile page to find out why...and remember to vote people!**

* * *

It said something about the sheer stupidity that she had to deal with on a daily basis that when Lal Mirch accidentally discovered what Iemitsu's son was doing in Italy, her first reaction wasn't to tell her boss.

The reason was simple really. This kid had been in close contact with the Varia multiple times and they had even done a check to see if he was related to anyone important. The odds of the Varia Elite _not_ knowing the kid was Iemitsu's spawn were almost nonexistent. Hell, Viper practically confirmed they knew damn well who the fluffy haired teen was, but kept their silence.

So Lal decided to try the third option, rather than piss off a _lot_ of people by forcibly relocating the kid back to a town he had run away from in the first place. Which would have been Iemitsu's only plan if he had known where his son was or _what_ he had been doing the past few years.

She decided to meet up with Viper and Squalo to work out a compromise. One that might be able to undo all the damage Iemitsu had been doing to his apprentice. Really, did he think she was blind to the fact he tricked Basil into thinking that Japan was still in the feudal era? He sounded like someone trying to speak Shakespearean English in modern day London, for god's sake!

"Voi. You had better have a damn good reason trying to mess with the kid," said Squalo.

If Lal hadn't known the Varia officers were fond of Tsuna, that would have tipped her off.

"I want to work out a deal with you. We both know the kid is vulnerable working solo as he has been, especially considering what his job is. And quite frankly Iemitsu can sit on it and spin if he thinks I'm going to let his idiocy continue with his so-called apprentice. That man couldn't raise a cactus, much less children," said Lal flatly.

"So what do you have in mind?" asked Viper evenly.

"A long term bodyguard. Officially he'll be protecting Tsuna under the guise of an employee. Unofficially according to our records he'll be an external spy on you lot whenever the kid cleans the castle. All reports will go to me and as long as I don't see any of the same shit that could lead to another fake coup, I'll burn them before they reach Iemitsu," said Lal.

"Voi. What makes you think we'd agree to that?"

"Let me put it this way... would you rather have that idiot send _more_ people to try and infiltrate your place, or have a spy that you damn well know is there?" she shot back.

"...Throw in something that would allow Tsuna to complete his education and we might have a deal," said Viper.

"What?" said Lal surprised.

"The boy dropped out of middle school because he was tired of the nonexistent support in his life, and became a cleaner by accident. His expense reports are _atrocious_ and perhaps if he continued his education he might learn to do his own books. He's far too reliant on his current helper for my taste," said Viper flatly. "There's no telling when the bomber brat will leave and force Tsuna to perform a mockery of balancing his books all over again."

Viper wouldn't admit it, but they were fond of the kid. He was _nothing_ like his useless father.

He at least knew what he was capable of and wasn't afraid to ask for help. And he kept better track of his receipts than most idiots they had to deal with. It was almost relaxing doing the kid's books, especially since he gave them a discount which meant they _saved_ money while he did a lot of work for them.

"Voi. So who are you planning to saddle us with?"

Lal handed over the obviously redacted file on Basil. It didn't give anything too risky away. Just his age, Flame type and a few bits about his education like the fact he spoke fluent Japanese... however it was very dated and he had some odd ideas of the current culture.

"Barely acceptable."

"The kid is a good enough fighter, but it's painful to watch him around Iemitsu because he's almost completely clueless. And quite frankly considering the kid is thriving in Italy and has managed to worm him way into your good side, I'd rather have a known factor that I can predict rather than whatever idiotic plan that fool would come up with to drag the poor kid back to Japan. Knowing him, if and when he finds out his son is here working as a cleaner he would come up with some convoluted idiotic idea to drag his son back just to keep up the rather poor ruse of a 'happy civilian family', despite the fact he has almost never gone to visit them even when he does go on vacation," said Lal bluntly. "It pisses me off that he's stringing his poor 'wife' along and goes on and on about a son that he doesn't even give a damn about in reality."

The two Varia looked at her.

"You're doing this to get one over on the jackass and keep the kid safe, since Iemitsu's bloodline," said Squalo after a moment.

"I'm doing what I can to protect someone who's been screwed over by that idiot one too many times and only needs a minor bit of protection. Anyone who can handle your brand of insanity long enough to clean up a few dead bodies and doesn't run away screaming has a chance to survive on this side of the world," said Lal flatly.

Squalo and Viper snorted in agreement.

Tsuna was surprisingly adaptable for someone who had come out of a straight civilian background.

Still, once Viper did a proper background check on 'Basil', those who knew _exactly_ who Tsuna's father was agreed that allowing a known spy to act as his bodyguard was an acceptable compromise. The kid was dumb enough to fall for Iemitsu's bullshit, which meant he might be easy enough to dupe and hide anything important from the idiot in the event Lal couldn't burn the reports fast enough.

Just window dressing to keep Iemitsu from pissing them off further as well as keep the kid safe.

The bomber was too much of a wild card to be considered a reliable bodyguard. Especially since there was no telling if he could be trustworthy enough to let in on the fact his "boss" was the son of the idiot who ran CEDEF.

Hayato Gokudera was well known for wanting an in to the bigger families, and there was no bigger family around than the Vongola.

Better to keep him in the dark until his loyalty could be verified beyond a shadow of a doubt.

* * *

"So just to be clear I'm getting a _free_ employee slash bodyguard and a new top of the line laptop so I can actually complete my education... why?" asked Tsuna suspiciously. This sounded way too good to be true and he hadn't survived as a cleaner as long as he had without taking precautions.

Case in point, the loaded gun in his truck in case the zombie apocalypse started with him as the first victim. Some might find his paranoia a bit ridiculous (case in point Belphegor who was the chief cause of why Tsuna was now paranoid of zombies), but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Even if it had meant a hellish two weeks of training with the Varia learning how to shoot the gun and how to maintain it.

He found taking it apart and putting it together strangely relaxing, like a weird puzzle. Even if the gun was only ever fired on the Varia test ranges to prove he was still capable of hitting the broad side of a barn every time he cleaned the place.

He was a small teenager with little to no time for any training in something like martial arts, and next to no way of defending himself. Even if he disliked guns because of the cultural bias against them (he was raised Japanese after all), he was above all a pragmatic kid and therefor capable of ignoring that distaste if it meant keeping himself safe.

Besides...it was either that or a knife, and he was still terrified of the 'training' he had undergone with Belphegor as the 'teacher' when it came to learning how to hold one properly. He kept it in his boot, hidden in his pants, since no one would expect someone as 'innocent' as him to even carry a concealed weapon. He sometimes wondered if Belphegor even knew he had swiped a few of the knives he left laying around for protection.

Probably not. The Prince had hundreds of the damn things and had yet to skewer him for it.

"The other 'independent' group with the famiglia we serve hates us and keeps sending morons to try and find 'evidence' of us up to no good. We came up with a compromise with one of the few people keeping them from imploding in order to keep them out for a while," said Squalo flatly.

"Uh-huh. What's the real reason?" asked Tsuna.

"You know how we keep giving you odd looks after that blood test?" asked Lussuria carefully.

"Hard to miss. I almost walked on eggshells for the entire time I was cleaning the place until you apparently came to the decision not to turn me into yet another body to dispose of," said Tsuna deadpan.

"Voi, screw this. Your dad runs the other group that keeps sending morons to spy on us, and his subordinate found out you were here working as a cleaner and is doing damage control. The 'extra help' she's sending is mostly a compromise and is going to double as a bodyguard and a way to keep the jackass from trying to forcibly send you back to Japan when he finds out because he wants to keep pretending he has a big happy family despite only visiting once in a blue moon if that," said Squalo.

Tsuna stiffened at that.

"You mean to tell me that homeless jackass that shows up, makes a mess and the pretends he's all lovey-dovey with my mother and is never actually around is _here_?" he snarled.

"Homeless jackass?" repeated Lussuria amused.

"He dresses like a homeless drifter and drinks liquor like it's water, leaving bottles and cans all over the place. And when he's around Mama he puts on this nauseating scene of being in 'love-love' with her, bringing her hopes up only to crush them when he disappears after a week. I can't count the number of times I've heard her crying at night because he's never around and misses their anniversary and our birthdays," snarled Tsuna with vehemence. "As far as I'm concerned my _father_ died when I was born and the bastard who makes my mother cry is a damn impostor who should die in the most painful way imaginable. And that his corpse should be desecrated in a way that his ghost would never be able to rest in peace from the shame of it all."

Seeing the rather bloodthirsty grin on Squalo and the dark gleam in Lussuria's eyes, it was clear _that_ sentiment was mutual when it came to Tsuna's father.

"Voi, I knew I liked you brat," said Squalo with dark approval.

Anyone who hated Iemitsu that much enough to do more than just spit on his corpse was gold in their books.

"So just to be clear I don't have to actually _pay_ the guy and I get laptop that I can do spreadsheets on so long as I put up with him being around me," said Tsuna darkly. "Explain to me why I'm not filling up that bastard's office with corpses after breaking the A/C and cranking up the heat?"

Squalo let out a dark laugh at that. He loved this kid, he really did.

"Because then the idiot would look into who did it and find out you're here, darling~!" said Lussuria, trying not to laugh as hard as Squalo was at the moment.

Because really, that sort of 'prank' was right up the Varia's alley and would take _months_ to properly clean up after...if they didn't ditch the building entirely from the smell alone and have to get a new one. Plus explaining to the Vongola why they had so many dead bodies that smelled to high heaven being removed from their HQ...on second thought...

"How much would you charge to actually go through with that, and what would you need?" asked Squalo.

"I would need full-body hazmat suits that conceal my features, mooks that can actually stand to move the corpses and possibly borrow Mammon to hide what we were actually doing. Then I'd need someone who can blow the A/C and rig the heat to be cranked up to full blast overnight," mused Tsuna. It sounded like a _lot_ of fun and something he'd proudly pull off if only so he could say he had been behind it.

Best of all there wasn't any actual _crime_ against stuffing a building full of corpses that were rotting and made the building completely uninhabitable.

Lussuria's eyes gleamed.

"You know if we did a few alterations it's doubtful that idiot would even recognize you," said Lussuria.

"You mean dye my hair or something?" Tsuna perked up.

A way to completely distance himself from the "Dame-Tsuna" image that had haunted him for years? Where did he sign up?

Lussuria chuckled.

"Sounds like someone is interested in a proper make-over!"

"Not having that stupid nickname follow me if I ever went back home to visit Mama would be nice," said Tsuna.

"Just leave that to me darling," said Lussuria grinning. "At the very least you'll get a new wardrobe...the one you have is positively atrocious."

Not to mention he was starting to outgrow it. Tsuna was such a small thing when they first met him, but hauling around corpses and his equipment had caused the boy to start filling out properly. His clothes were in dire need of replacement, as some were simply too small for his frame anymore. Or were becoming too worn.

"Voi. I would seriously pay you to put corpses in their HQ...and if possible help with a bit of stealing," said Squalo grinning.

"Steal what? I already rob corpses," said Tsuna.

Seeing the looks they were giving him, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I steal all their cash and anything that looks mildly interesting. I sort of have a collection of rings too. I have no idea why so many people like to wear such elaborate jewelry..."

Squalo and Lussuria stared at him, before Lussuria took out something from his bag.

"These rings...do they look anything like this?" he asked carefully.

"Some of them do. I have at least twenty or thirty of ones like that and a few I keep for my special collection."

"Voi. Kid if you let us have a look at the ones you'd be willing to part with, Mammon might actually _buy_ a few of them off you for a good price," said Squalo.

Because the idea that Tsuna had been collecting Flame-aligned rings wasn't the least bit farfetched. The kid cleaned corpses and the sort of people who were aware of the significance of the rings in question would have disposed of the body themselves. Or at least taken the ring before Tsuna came in.

And Mammon would be more than happy to pay Tsuna for the good quality ones, because it would still be cheaper than having the things made and easier than tracking them down themselves.

"I can bring them over next week. I suppose Luss and I can get that make-over done while you guys pick whichever ones you want to buy," said Tsuna brightly.

Squalo looked very pleased to hear that. He could only hope the Boss would be more amused about corrupting the kid against his dad, than he would be about the fact they had a semi-close relationship with the spawn of Iemitsu.


	61. Reed on the Wind Chapter Two

**Since some people are having trouble finding me, my username on Ao3 is SakuraDemonAlchemist. Or you could just look up Transcending Time and Space. You'll know you have the right one when you find a story that has a threesome between Bel, Fran and Luna Lovegood.**

* * *

"How long has that Reed girl been with us?" asked Erik the lion tamer.

"Three months," said Pomona, the Ringmaster.

"...And Skull _still_ hasn't figured it out?"

Pomona smirked.

"Give it time. Reed is only now starting to let her guard down around us enough to ask for help, and Skull seems to have figured out she hasn't had a nice home life before now. Once they get past that hurdle, we can all enjoy the antics of that goofball trying to woo our little healer," said Pomona.

It was clear to anyone with eyes that Skull had a thing for Reed. They never asked about her past or why she so easily left her home without even a single glance back. She wouldn't be the first runaway that found a home among the troupe, nor would she be the last.

Unlike other runaways, Reed had made herself almost indispensable among them. She was not only a hard worker, but the number of acts they had to put on hold due to injuries had dropped significantly. And if that wasn't enough, the girl had a way with animals...even the temperamental tiger that they sometimes had to nix from the act behaved around her.

In short the poor girl fit right in with the mismatched group.

But that wasn't the best part, in the opinion of the older troupe members.

Skull, a man who was very much a free spirit, had finally found a girl who not only put up with his wild antics and insane stunts, but could give as good as she got when it came to witty barbs and insane antics.

Skull nearly had a heart attack the first time he went to teach her how to ride the practice motorcycle. They had already set up both ramps nearby, and by an amazing show of luck when she accidentally hit the accelerator and didn't have a good grip on the brake, she managed to hit the ramp _perfectly_.

That wasn't what gave him a near heart attack though. Oh, no, that came from Reed's reaction to being in the air while on the bike...she did a perfect flip and just managed to land on the other ramp without crashing.

And instead of being freaked out she _laughed._

"That was way too much fun!"

It seemed fate truly favored the man hated by Death, if it was willing to give him a potential wife that actually enjoyed stunts as much as he did, and didn't mind patching him up after a show.

It was absolutely _adorable_ to watch Skull interact with Reed, especially when he planned out the occasional date. Seeing his harmless fumbles was great entertainment for all involved.

Like when Reed took one look at the cheesy bouquet of flowers Skull had gotten for her and was clearly trying very hard not to laugh, before calmly explaining what they _meant_ in flower language. While she still kept them, the light teasing she gave the mortified stuntman over the mixed meaning of the flowers was amusing.

Reed was good for Skull. A lot of his wild antics toned down and they didn't have to worry about him getting hurt doing something stupid. And the way he blushed when she fussed over him!

Spotting the girl in question, Pomona grinned.

"Hey Reed! I've been meaning to ask, but when's your birthday?"

"July 31st," she replied without thinking.

Pomona and Erik both shared a look. That was barely two weeks away!

"And how many candles should we put on the cake?"

Seeing her startled wide eyed blink at the question, the two silently shared a look. It was clear to anyone who spent a lot of time around those with certain backgrounds that Reed had been abused for a long time.

"...Seventeen," she admitted, not willing to look them in the eye.

Pomona looked at Erik and asked in Russian _"How old is Skull again?"_

" _Almost 22,"_ he replied back stunned.

A five or six year age gap wasn't that bad, but they were definitely going to give Skull a warning about Reed's actual age before he tried to move to a more 'physical' relationship with her.

"Have you even finished high school?"

"I've been doing online courses. So long as I take the exams with a registered authority before I'm eighteen no one will say anything. I'm technically on leave from school anyway to study for the graduating exams," she replied.

From what Pomona could tell, she was being entirely truthful about that but she couldn't help but feel as though the girl was leaving out some major pieces.

Skull had such a hilariously shocked expression upon learning that his soon-to-be girlfriend was not only about to turn seventeen, but that her birthday was in less than two weeks.

He had absolutely no idea what to get Reed.

She knew more about flowers than he did, was an awesome cook that could outdo most restaurants he could afford, and she didn't really do clothes or jewelry.

And the snake. Skull was still leery of that thing being in the same vicinity as him and that was just driving. Never mind the fact that it had taken to acting as a sort of weird necklace around Reed's neck.

How she could be so comfortable around the thing and act like she knew what it was thinking was something that still threw him.

Skull thought long and hard about what he wanted to do for her birthday. He knew the others, who had quickly become charmed by her sensible manner and willingness to work regardless of how gross or demeaning the task might be, were planning a small party which would also double as a proper "welcome to the troupe" celebration. By this point Reed was an equal member, despite having joined only three months ago.

Then it hit him. So what if there was a bit of an age gap between them? Five or six years was pretty minor, and in another decade no one would really bat an eye about it.

Besides...the idea of allowing someone to take Reed from him made his heart fill with possessive intent, and if he had been looking at a mirror he would have seen his eyes glow an ominous purple color not too dissimilar to violet.

She was the closest thing he had to a home in a long time, and he wasn't going to let some other jerk waltz in and try to take her from him. There were far too many creeps out there that would take advantage of her nature and history and use it to cage her.

Mind made up, Skull eagerly waited for Reed's birthday.

Seeing her still up at midnight, he quietly knocked on the door and waited for her to let him in. He was polite like that.

"You need something?"

"I was thinking about what we could do for your birthday, but to be honest my big plans always blew up even in my head," he admitted. "And Pomona would kick my ass if I ruined the troupe's plan for later."

Reed looked at him with a very confused expression on her face. It just solidified Skull's plans for coming to visit her.

"Which is why I decided to do this," he said, before he kissed her on the lips without any warning at all.

Reed froze in shock.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked sheepishly.

"Why?" she asked baffled. "I mean why me? I know you have all sorts of fans happy to be with you. So why pick me?"

Skull would have happily strangled whoever destroyed her confidence in others so badly that the idea someone would want her as a girlfriend threw her off this badly.

"Because while those girls might be enamored with the idea of dating someone semi-famous, they're not you," said Skull honestly. "You _get_ why I enjoy doing crazy stunts and you patch me up with mild exasperation. The last time I tried to date a fan, it ended badly. She left me for some loser without a second thought or even any warning. You actually _care_ about me and see past the mask I put on for show...even if your taste in pets and neck wear is still weird."

Sycamore hissed at him for that comment from her neck.

"And I can tell you would be worth the wait. You're funny, kind, loyal and a great person... and the thought of someone taking you from me kinda pisses me off something fierce," admitted Skull, trying not to mess this up.

Reed still looked confused, but something passed through her eyes hearing that. She was still stunned he chose _her_ , but she wasn't going to question a bit of good fortune for once.

Skull would admit open relief when she kissed him back.

"I have no idea how to be a girlfriend," she admitted. "No one has ever even looked at me as a proper girl before."

Skull's smile warmed up considerably as a strange warmth blossomed in his chest.

"So is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes, you goof," she said smiling.

He hugged her, making very sure she saw what he was planning. It was what she liked about Skull...he knew she wasn't used to being touched without warning. Most of the troupe picked up on that quickly enough, which made being here that much more relaxing because they were slowly acclimating her to surprise hugs.

* * *

The troupe's reaction to the news and the fact Skull and Reed were holding hands the next morning?

"It's about freaking time!" said Erik. "We thought you'd never get the balls to ask her out!"

"Oi! What does that mean?" said Skull mock offended.

"Let's face it, she has bigger balls than you do," said Erik without hesitation.

Before Skull could make a retort, Reed coughed suspiciously and averted her eyes from his.

"Et tu?" he said in dismay.

"You're still freaked out by Sycamore and need I remind you of the time you woke everyone up because I accidentally dropped a perfectly harmless frog on you?"

Skull pouted, as everyone else laughed their ass off.

"Frogs are just gross! They're so slimy and disgusting. What were you doing carrying that thing anyway?"

"It's not slime, it's mucus," she replied. "And they're not so bad."

She wondered how he would react if she let a few chocolate frogs loose around him, if the real ones creeped him out. Or how he would react to trying a cockroach cluster.

Reed's smile was wide and almost carefree. She was clearly enjoying herself, and her hand rarely left Skull's for too long.

Though the highlight of the party was when Reed subtly slipped Skull a cockroach cluster to see how he would react. Seeing the stuntman sputter the second he registered what he was eating was hilarious.

"Why do you even _have_ that?"

"For stupid idiots with too much money to test their daring. You are now a proud member of the 'I ate a bug' club," she said with a straight face.

Skull made a face. But he still grinned anyway. It was nice seeing Reed open up.

* * *

"There's a brown frog in my bed!" shouted Skull.

"It's made of chocolate," Reed told him.

Skull's panic attack stopped short hearing that. He looked at the odd amphibian that looked way too realistic.

"I totally call bullshit."

Reed smirked at him as she scooped up the odd brown frog on his bed and calmly _ripped_ off a leg. Skull grimaced, fully expecting blood...only to stare in disbelief at the fact it was clearly hollow like some sort of demented chocolate bunny you'd find at Easter in the States.

"That is so weird," he said, before slowly breaking off the other back leg. After a moment, his expression shifted to a grin. "But the chocolate is excellent. How did you make these anyway?"

"I didn't. I bought them at a specialty store I know of...they're fairly popular in Europe and you just have to know where to look."

All she did was wait for the animation charm to wear off and remove the card, before leaving it on Skull's bed. She had absolutely no idea how to make a proper chocolate frog.

Splitting the chocolate between them, Reed carefully setting into the second-hand couch she had bought for the RV and the moderately sized TV on the opposite wall.

She had been very discreet when it came to the expansion charms. No one would suspect the RV had a literal _house_ inside it...mostly in the closet where she kept her supplies to make her 'herbal remedies'. If one turned the lock correctly, it would lead to her house and potions lab, rather than the closet. Any other way and it simply lead to a mundane closet.

Skull sat next to her, and let Reed lean into him as he put in the movie. After about ten minutes she relaxed completely into his side and let her defenses drop.

While very inexperienced with the idea of dating someone, Reed was a quick learner. Skull knew better than to rush things, so they were currently taking it slow. A few extra hugs or the occasional kiss during show times here and there was about as physical as they got.

Or there were times like this, when they simply relaxed together in Reed's private RV and watched random movies...Skull was a major fan of the old Godzilla films. And despite how cheesy and poorly made they were, Reed found them amusing.

Mostly because she was all too aware that it was entirely possible the creature in question _could_ exist, with how magic worked. If a dragon could exist, why not a prehistoric lizard with atomic breath with a penchant for destroying Tokyo?

Reed happily snuggled into Skull's side, and didn't flinch when he slowly wrapped his arm around her. It was nice and warm, and she felt oddly safe like this in a way that she couldn't really describe.

So it was with great reluctance that she brought up a subject she wished would stay buried.

"I have to leave for a week to take some exams. It shouldn't take too long, but it's unavoidable."

Skull looked unhappy.

"You'll come back, right?"

"You couldn't keep me away. This is my home and there's no way I'd leave you without a fight," she said honestly. She didn't see it in the light, but her eyes glinted with an amber light in the darkness.

"After this you'll be done with school, right?"

"They're the last exams needed to be declared an official adult," she confirmed.

She had already graduated high school. The exams were surprisingly easy, since she spent so much time reading and catching up. And without the stress of her yearly adventures, the insane study guides from hell, or that fool's insistence on distracting her all the damn time, she found studying much easier than she remembered.

So much so it only took her a few months to catch up to her mundane education and pass the exams online. Once she finished her N.E.W.T.'s she'd proudly display her shiny new degree on the wall. She had graduated with honors, despite her handicap.

"Then I'll grin and bear it, even if I don't like it," said Skull pouting. She kissed him shyly on the cheek, which brightened his mood, just a little.


	62. A Sky's Flock Chapter One

**In honor of my birthday (and the end of my vacation, sadly), I give to you updates!**

* * *

When Miya first met Tsuki, she honestly thought the poor girl was a runaway. It didn't help that she had all her things in a single bag she had slung around her shoulder.

It was only as the girl slowly relaxed around her that she got the full story, and felt nothing but sympathy for the child.

Tsuki wasn't a runaway...technically anyway. She was an emancipated minor provided she could find lodging and be able to take care of basic living expenses on top of her education, and considering she wasn't even thirteen yet that was going to prove rather difficult (the living expenses, not the education).

She had a mother, but the woman was so lost in her own little world that it was better for her emotional and mental health that she be removed from the home discreetly.

Nana was aware that her daughter had gotten a 'rare scholarship' to a university in Shin Tokyo, but not the fact that Tsuki had removed her as her primary caretaker.

She had exactly three months to find a new _appropriate_ place to live in and show signs of being able to handle the stress that came from living independently before the conditional emancipation order was rescinded and she was sent back to her mother. Considering the girl had been extensively bullied for quite some time, the concern for her ability to handle real life was warranted.

Miya was torn. On one hand, the girl clearly had a rough time of things if she felt desperate enough to actually manage to get a temporary emancipation order. On the other hand her instincts told her that children should stay with their mothers.

Considering how timid the girl was, Miya was highly tempted to send her home.

Instead she opted for a wait and see approach.

"How good are you at basic chores?" she asked, already coming up with a plan.

"Um... I'm decent enough. I know how to wash laundry and dishes, and I'm tolerable at making my own bentos. Mama sometimes forgot."

"You're planning to continue your education, yes? What grade level?"

"I just finished the online high school courses, so with any luck I'll be able to apply to the college nearby...even if my grades weren't the best, it was still better than what I used to bring home on my report card."

Miya's eyebrows went up a bit in shock. She wasn't even thirteen and she already passed high school?

"Are you the trouble making sort?"

Tsuki wilted.

"I never go looking for trouble. It just finds me," she said softly.

The poor thing looked like a skittish kitten, complete with fluffy hair. Miya's maternal instincts cooed at her.

"My husband would never turn away someone in need," said Miya gently. "I can forgo the rent because of your age, but only if you agree to certain terms."

Tsuki perked up at that, and for the first time since Miya met her she saw hope.

"Rule one, I don't like messy rooms. If you rent from me you have to keep it relatively clean. Rule two, I'm _very_ strict on having 'company' and I don't tolerate it in the house...not that I expect you'll give me as much trouble as some of my tenants. Rule three, no pets allowed. Rule four, if you're going to live here without paying rent, then I expect some help with the upkeep. Nothing big like repairs, but helping to keep the place clean and cook for everyone will suffice. And do try to keep the noise level down when you're studying, because some of the other tenants have odd work hours and may be sleeping. Is that acceptable?" said Miya.

"Yes ma'am!" she said quickly. She couldn't believe her luck.

Miya smiled at her gently. It was like the girl was one of her more skittish Feathers that needed a place to stay for a while.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

It had taken some doing, several calls to specific people in Namimori to confirm Tsuki wasn't making up her credentials or her ability to understand material, but she had been able to secure a special scholarship that allowed her to attend the local college.

At least she was able to drop her old school. Namimori's educational system was a joke in her opinion, but the double studying had been a nightmare. Oddly the more 'serious' crimes were nonexistent and the worst she had ever had to deal with was some minor harassment.

No one wanted to piss off the Demon Prefect after all.

Tsuki made her way back to the inn, and almost ran into a man with short grayish-colored hair and tired eyes. He must be one of the boarders who had weird hours.

"Hello little one. Are you lost?" he asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm currently staying here. Are you one of Miya-san's other tenants?" she asked curiously.

He blinked, before he shook off his surprise at that.

"I'm Homura, though my work name is Kagari. She probably mentioned a few of her boarders having weird hours didn't she?" he replied. Tsuki nodded. "I tend to work nights, so I sleep in a lot during the day."

"Fair warning, if you hear loud thumps on the stairs it's likely me from tripping on something. I'm something of a klutz," she told him.

"I'll keep that in mind, little kitten," he chuckled. She pouted at him, which only made the kitten comparison worse.

"I see you've met our new tenant," said Miya. "Welcome home."

"I'm back," replied Tsuki automatically. It was nice to actually have someone there to say that and _mean_ it, rather than just following old habits. "I managed to get in, though I have to keep my grades above a C average at best."

"What school do you go to?" asked Homura. He might as well make small talk for now.

"Shin Tokyo University. It took _forever_ for the paperwork to clear, and it's going to be a pain dealing with all the older students but it can't be worse than dealing with Namimori Middle School. The teachers there were an absolute joke."

If Homura had been drinking anything he would have choked on it.

"How old are you again?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'll be thirteen in October," she replied, not understanding why it mattered. Sure, having to do double homework had been a complete nightmare before but half of that was from the fact that the teachers did nothing about the harassment she dealt with on a daily basis and she got no support from home.

Homura looked at her with some respect.

"You must be something of a genius if you're about to attend college before you're even a proper teenager."

She quickly shook her head, somewhat depressed.

"It's less that I'm a genius and more that I was _very_ motivated to get as far away from my home town as soon as I could," she sighed.

Homura sensed a story there, one that would need a lot of alcohol.

"So have you met Uzume yet?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Crazy cosplayer who has a bad habit of walking around in nothing but a tee-shirt and her underwear," clarified Homura. He barely dodged the shoe thrown at him.

"I heard that!"

"Oh, her. I think Miya's planning to blackmail her to take me clothes shopping later," said Tsuki.

"She is, though it's less blackmail and more that she's giving me an unwilling dress-up dummy if you're going to be a long-term tenant. Seriously, why do you only have three sets of clothes with you?" confirmed Uzume.

Tsuki winced.

"You're talking to someone who can't even afford a cell phone. How exactly am I supposed to pay for clothes when I'm too busy trying to pay for books and basic school supplies?" she replied.

"Which books?" asked Homura.

Tsuki looked at him.

"I have a ton of books in my room I don't read that are just taking up space. Depending on which course you're taking you're welcome to have them," he clarified. Seeing the bright, warm smile on her face he knew he said the right thing.

Miya watched the entire scene with a small smile on her face. She had initially been leery of allowing Tsuki to rent from her, but the girl was a quiet, sweet little thing who didn't mind helping with the chores. Though she was a bit clumsy, she still managed to get things done in a reasonable time frame provided she didn't do the task too quickly and understood what needed to be done.

Though the fluffy kitten comparison was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

Homura leaned over to a slightly drunk Uzume and asked half-seriously "When did Miya relax her policy on pets?"

"Hmm?"

"Because if I didn't know any better I'd swear she just adopted a kitten," he said, nodding to Tsuki in the kitchen.

Uzume choked on her drink from laughing.

"Oh god...and the weird part is that I can totally see it!" she cracked up.

Tsuki was way too much like a little kitten that needed to be spoiled rotten.

"Wonder what Matsu can dig up on her," mused Homura.

Curious, Uzume and Homura waited for Tsuki to join Miya in the grocery shopping (Miya was very pleased to have someone help carry back all the sale items) before they went to see Matsu.

"Well Matsu, what can you tell us about the new kitten Miya's apparently adopted?" asked Uzume.

"Give me a minute!" chirped the red head. "Here we are... Tsuki Sawada, age twelve... yikes."

Homura and Uzume stared at the file Matsu managed to drag up.

"Okay, how is that file even remotely accurate?" said Homura baffled.

According to the digital file Matsu found, Tsuki was still living with her mother and racking up an enormous amount of absences in Namimori Middle School. Her grade point average was dead last across the board and there was even a notation that all but stated she was a "no good, useless girl".

Which made absolutely no sense because Tsuki had just been admitted into college despite being at least six or seven years too young for it and was living in Izumo Inn with them.

Matsu searched deeper and found different files that told a completely different story. Except they were sealed and it had taken some creative hacking to find them.

The files she pulled up were on a girl who claimed to be home-schooled and had an almost straight C average with the odd B or the rare A through online courses. Her home life _barely_ qualified as acceptable in that there was no abuse, but there was suspicion of emotional neglect from her mother. It wasn't that her mother hated her, but more that she was extremely delusional and lost in her own little world and didn't notice obvious signs of bullying and detachment from her daughter. There was _zero_ positive social interaction with children her own age...in fact the only interaction she had with her peers was generally negative and bordered harassment.

Oddly, there was also harassment from her teachers. Almost every single one of them disparaged the girl either openly or behind her back, and when mentions of her online grades were brought up they immediately suspected cheating.

There was absolutely no mention of her father, and the social worker who had stumbled across the case noted that Tsuki had a fixed interest in getting away from Namimori before she turned eighteen.

Hence why she was given a temporary emancipation, to see if she could handle the world away from a very caustic situation. If they could find the source of all the animosity then perhaps steps could be taken to fix it, but in the best interest of a child being attacked on all sides, the judge had agreed that removal was their best option at the moment. A fresh start, as it were.

The fact Nana apparently had not figured out her daughter was living in another city without parental supervision or had taken online classes to get away did not speak well of her ability as a mother.

"Damn... and here I thought our situation sucked," said Uzume whistling. Poor kid had been through hell before she moved to Shin Tokyo.

"It would seem that barring external problems, the kitten will be here to stay," said Homura. He fully planned to treat her like one of the younger Sekirei.

If Tsuki was confused by the way they were now treating her, she managed not to show it.

* * *

 _Later that night_

"Alright you two, exactly what did you find that has you treating her like another Sekirei?" asked Miya pointedly.

Uzume slid a tablet over to Miya.

She recognized Matsu's handiwork pretty quick. The more Miya read the more her frown grew.

"Is this accurate?"

"Matsu had to hack through several government firewalls. Apparently they considered the issue with her home life and school serious enough to issue the temporary order and the grace period. We're probably going to get a visit sometime within a month or so once she's fully settled in," said Homura seriously.

"I really feel for her. A mom that either doesn't know or care about what her daughter is going through and an entire school's worth of people set against her. And her dad apparently isn't even in the picture...they're skeptical if he's even alive or part of the mom's delusion," said Uzume with sympathy.

Miya was rather proud of her Feathers. The way they were going about this was rather mature for them, and even Uzume was taking this situation seriously.

"I'll take her shopping for some actual clothes. What she has now barely fits her and she looks overdue for a proper growth spurt... never mind what'll happen when puberty hits," said Uzume.

Miya looked to Homura.

"Once she has a class schedule and a list of books, I'll go through what's in my room and help her find the ones I don't have at a used book store or something. Notebooks and other basic supplies are pretty cheap if you buy them in bulk anyway," said Homura, scratching his nose.

The landlady beamed at them both. Tsuki might not have realized it yet, but she had pretty much been adopted by all the residents in the inn and she had barely lived there a full week. She could only imagine what Matsu's contribution would be.

* * *

Akira Tenoh somewhat enjoyed her job as an advocate for children. But the Sawada case was something that would bother her for a long time.

How that much emotional trauma and harassment had gone unnoticed for so long without anyone raising red flags was a mystery.

About the only good side out of the mess was that at least they didn't have to deal with the vicious "Demon Prefect" directly... little Tsuki had shown a surprising amount of trust in someone she only knew indirectly.

According to the paperwork the girl had sent once she was admitted to the local university (the girl was seriously downplaying her intelligence, if she was able to actually _graduate_ high school before she even entered puberty...) she had managed to secure housing in a small boarding house inside Shin Tokyo.

Seeing the woman with lavender hair sweeping the grounds, she plastered on her friendliest smile.

"Hello, I'm Akira Tenoh. I'm here to inquire about one of your tenants."

"You must be here about little Tsuki-chan. She's currently in class at the moment," said the woman politely.

"That's fine. I'm mostly here to inquire about her living conditions and to see if she's fitting in," said Akira.

The woman nodded and opened the door.

Akira sat down and gratefully accepted the cup of tea.

"Why don't we get down to business. How is Sawada-san fitting in with her new surroundings?"

"My other tenants have apparently decided she's a mixture of a 'pet kitten' and a surrogate little sister. There's been no complaints so far and one of them has apparently taken up the hobby of discreetly kidnapping her."

"Kidnapping her?" repeated Akira in disbelief.

Miya hid a smile.

"She basically takes little Tsuki on outings like visiting the movies or places where she can relax and socialize with others. The fact Tsuki doesn't mind indulging my tenant's cosplaying hobby doesn't hurt either."

Akira relaxed at that... that sounded like innocent behavior of a goofy older sister wanting to spend time with a little sister. And she would admit Tsuki did look ridiculously like a fluffy kitten.

"Another tenant occasionally helps with her homework when he's around. He also helped her acquire the books she needs for her classes and wouldn't hear of her paying him back, since he already had half of them in his room and wasn't using them," said Miya. "However he works odd hours, so their interaction has been rather limited."

"Odd hours?"

"He works as a host," clarified Miya.

"I see. And how has Tsuki been fitting in? It can't be easy for her to be so far away from home for the first time."

"We've come to an arrangement, since most of her money has gone towards her education. In exchange with helping with most of the chores and the cooking, I've agreed to waive most of the rent. It would be rather silly to ask a twelve-year-old to pay for room and board, after all."

"That's rather generous of you."

"My husband would never turn down someone who needed a place to stay, and there was no telling what would have happened if she had kept looking for an apartment she could afford. Besides, she's given me less grief than most of my new tenants."

Akira left the inn with a sense of relief. Seeing how much Tsuki's living situation had improved had lifted a large amount of weight off her shoulders. The girl was definitely thriving in the odd arrangement.


	63. The Accidental Hunter Chapter One

**A Supernatural/KHR fic. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sam was investigating the rather tiny pantry when he noticed it. Something moving in the dark too big to be an animal.

With a stealth most wouldn't attribute to his size, he stealthily made it over to where the movement was...and moved the boxes back enough to reveal the source.

It was a kid! Barely even hitting puberty and already panicking at being found.

"Easy," he said gently.

The confusion in the kid's eyes made him frown, but what he said next had Sam pulling out his phone and calling Bobby after he sent Dean a text. If anyone could translate what the kid was saying, it was the older hunter.

" _What?"_

"I have a kid here who doesn't speak English from the looks of it," said Sam simply.

" _Put me on speaker,"_ said Bobby gruffly.

The kid look at the phone with some wariness, before cautiously saying _"Moshi moshi?"_

Sam couldn't hope to follow any of what was said past maybe a word or two. However whatever Bobby told him managed to calm him down enough to come out, though he eyed the gun Sam had in his hand with wary caution.

Sam switched the phone off speaker, and waited for a moment.

" _Kid's name is Tsuna and he's Japanese. Some idiots kidnapped him on the way home from school and then made the stupid decision of hiding him in a area where a shifter has apparently set up shop. Shifter took notice of the newcomers and decided to kill most of them, with the smarter ones fleeing once they figured out who it was and realized their bullets didn't work. Tsuna hid and decided to wait until he was fairly certain the thing was gone, but doesn't speak much English. Use silver to kill the thing and then bring him here so we can sort it out and possibly send him home,"_ said Bobby flatly.

"Got it."

Dean took one look at the kid and gave Sam a questioning look.

"He saw a shifter, but doesn't speak English very well. Bobby said to finish up fast and bring him to the house so we might be able to send him back to Japan," explained Sam.

"So...silver?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded.

Tsuna jumped a bit with surprise when he saw the number of weapons in the trunk, and stared with confusion when Dean handed him a small bracelet made of silver.

Sam texted Bobby and got a rough translation of what to tell the kid, who had a funny look on his face (likely because of Sam's pronunciation) but got the gist and put it on in his right wrist.

Poor kid must have been exhausted, because he was out like a light once Dean locked the doors of the Impala. With how small he was he was easily hidden in the backseat with the light cover that Sam had stolen from one of the crappy motels they were always staying at.

The shifter was a complete pain in the ass to deal with, but Sam found something even more interesting in the things left behind by the kid's kidnappers. He bundled it all up for Bobby to read over later, once they got to his house.

Tsuna was awake, but seemed to know that the monster has been dealt with because he was more curious than freaked.

Sam remembered vague lessons on Japanese and tries to break the ice.

"Watashi wa Winchester Sam," he tells the kid. He hooked a thumb at his brother. "Dean. Aniki."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," said the kid with a light bow of the head.

"What did you tell him?" asked Dean.

"Told him my name. In Japan you introduce yourself with your last name, then your first. I also said yours and told him you're my brother," admitted Sam.

"And the bow thing?"

"I can't be sure, but if I remember right they bow more than they shake hands in Japan," said Sam.

"Ask him if he's hungry, because I'm starving," said Dean.

Even if Tsuna didn't understand him, his stomach certainly did because it let out a loud growl. The kid was practically skin and bones.

"Guess that answers that question," chuckled Dean.

Tsuna was rather cautious, but seemed to get why they were stopping when he saw the food. Considering the language barrier, Dean sent Sam in to get the food while he went to fuel up the car across the street. He also grabbed a few bags of chips and other road snacks, because they were running low.

Tsuna was out like a light once he had eaten, though at least he had the sense to keep his trash in the same bag as the food so as not to mess up the car.

It took them fourteen hours to get to Bobby's, and Dean was already crabby from the amount of driving he had to do.

Sam carefully lifted the kid and took him inside once he passed the holy water test, not that he really thought the boy was possessed.

Hopefully Bobby could help them sort this mess out.

* * *

 _Tsuna POV_

He was having a very weird week. First he was kidnapped and shipped to another country entirely, then a monster showed up and killed most of the men who took him, and to top it off a pair of monster hunters appeared and managed to rescue him from the creature. Thankfully they knew someone who spoke Japanese, even if Sam's pronunciation was rather terrible.

He had to panic a bit waking up outside the car, but hoped that it meant they had taken him to whoever the taller one had called. The other man wasn't short, but the one who found him had to be a giant or something.

He slowly made his way down the stairs, just glad that he didn't trip like he usually did.

There was an older man drinking coffee from the smell in the air, and he had some breakfast out. It wasn't anything fancy, but it at least looked edible.

" _Morning,"_ he said gruffly in Japanese. Tsuna relaxed slightly, realizing this was the same man the tall one called earlier. _"How are you holding up?"_

" _Fine,"_ said Tsuna.

" _Breakfast is in the pan and the two_ idjits _will be up eventually once they get over the late night they had. My name is Bobby Singer."_

Realizing he wasn't a morning person, Tsuna got out a plate and looked for some chopsticks only to realize the only thing in the house were knives, forks and spoons.

He wasn't very good with the fork, but he managed.

About halfway through breakfast, the tall one named Sam came downstairs and yawned.

"Morning."

"Breakfast is in the pan. That lazy idjit still asleep?"

Sam nodded and poured himself some coffee. Then on a whim, gently ruffled Tsuna's head causing him to squawk a bit in surprise.

It felt surprisingly nice.

The slightly shorter one named Dean came down sometime close to lunch and once he had eaten Sam brought out what he had found.

The older man turned to Tsuna.

" _You know your phone number?"_

Tsuna nodded. The older one handed him a cell phone, and with some fumbling he managed to call his number. He was disheartened to only get the answering machine, but then again there was the time difference to consider. He had no idea what time it was back home.

" _No luck?"_ guessed Bobby and Tsuna shook his head. Bobby turned to Sam. "Let him use your computer to watch anime or something. That should keep him occupied for a bit."

Sam nodded, and lead Tsuna to the study where he plugged in his laptop and scrolled to find a site that had the subbed anime on it since Tsuna couldn't speak English. Once he found something that he liked, Tsuna was more or less occupied catching up on a few shows. Fortunately he understood the concept of staying on that site and not hitting any links... he wasn't that good with a computer.

Somehow he had the feeling this was going to take a while.

Bobby looked through the papers with some annoyance. The kid, Tsuna, had either really stepped in it or had been dragged in because of his old man.

"Well?" asked Dean.

"From what I can tell they were plannin' to hold him for ransom against his father, who is some big shot. I doubt the kid has any idea of what's going on," said Bobby.

"So why do you look annoyed?" asked Sam.

"Because if I'm reading this right, and Italian isn't my strong suit, then the kid's father is part of the mafia. One of the bigger families."

"Hold up. You mean the _Godfather_ is real?" asked Sam.

"Real and has it's own society and rules," confirmed Bobby. "They keep to themselves mostly and they have their own boogeymen to keep them in line. Something called the Vindice, who they all seem mortally terrified of, but from what I understand they only intervene when someone steps out of line and they actually arrest people rather than kill them."

"Seriously?" said Dean.

"If you see someone radiating a weird vibe with bandages, a top hat and looking something like a corpse that uses chains, stay the hell out of their way and don't argue with them. They're one of the few creatures out there that no one knows how to kill and doesn't cause harm," said Bobby firmly.

"So don't fuck with the zombie cops, got it," said Dean.

"So what now?"

"We wait until Tsuna gets in touch with his mother, and hopefully arrange for him to be sent home," said Bobby. "Though he might as well know why he was taken, if only to avoid a repeat. I have the feeling his father never told them anything."

That was a week ago, and Tsuna still had no luck getting in contact with his mother, even after looking up the time difference and calling when he knew she would not only be up but have a higher chance of being at home.

On the eighth day, however, he finally got an answer. And it wasn't one that he particularly liked, if his expression was anything to go by.

"So you called your house and a stranger answered to tell you that your mom wasn't there?" said Sam, frowning.

Tsuna's grasp on English was still hit or miss, but at least he was starting to catch on. Bobby was rather annoyed at playing translator, but put up with it on the assumption that the boy would be sent home to his mother soon enough.

Tsuna nodded, unhappily.

"Stranger said she gone. No say where she went," said Tsuna slowly.

Bobby patiently corrected his English out of what was apparently going to be a habit at this point.

Still the fact remained that his mother wasn't at home.

" _Is there anyone else you can call?"_ asked Bobby.

Tsuna thought for a moment, before cringing. It wasn't exactly the smartest move, but considering his options was likely to be the best one. Even if he was almost certainly going to be bitten to death for it.

Sam helped him look up the phone number to the reception room in Tsuna's school, a bit confused as to why he would call there.

Fortunately for the teen, it wasn't the Demon Prefect who answered.

It was his right hand Kusakabe.

" _Hello?"_ said a very confused Kusakabe. No one called this room, for obvious reasons.

Tsuna looked partially relieved. He quickly explained to the other teen who he was and why he was calling.

" _Just to be clear you were kidnapped and taken to America of all places, but you haven't been able to contact your mother and a stranger is in your house, correct?"_ said Kusakabe slowly. He had to admit, this was a new situation for him, but he worked with Hibari regularly. Besides, his boss had been irate that a student had been missing class for two weeks without an excuse. _"I'll let the boss know, but is there a number we can reach you at?"_

Tsuna looked to Bobby, who handed him a paper with a disposable phone number on it. He wasn't paying for that long distance bill and they used burners regularly anyway.

Tsuna rattled off the number he was given, and Kusakabe made sure to confirm it. He would call back once Hibari investigated what was going on with Tsuna's mother.

It was a somewhat tense three hours after that, but Tsuna was quick to answer the phone and put it on speaker with a little help from Sam.

" _Your mother was removed from the house four days ago by men in suits. Apparently she recognized one of them because she didn't put up a fight and was rather happy about it considering. The official story according to the neighbors is that the stranger is house sitting, with no explanation of why you have been missing for two weeks,"_ Kusakabe informed them.

And Hibari was quite irate about that. It was bad enough a small animal had been removed from his territory, but this reeked of a cover up or an attempt on the Sawada family.

" _You might want to tell whoever your boss is that the kid was taken as collateral against his father, who might be in the mafia,"_ said Bobby gruffly.

Kusakabe paused at the unfamiliar voice, before Tsuna silently handed the phone over to Bobby after a moment.

" _Are you the one currently keeping an eye on him?"_ asked Kusakabe.

" _Yes. The plan was to wait until we got in touch with his mother before sending him back to Japan, but I'm not going to let him return to a house with someone he doesn't know,"_ said Bobby bluntly.

There was another voice on the other end, before Kusakabe spoke. Tsuna had stiffened because he _knew_ the second voice and was rightly worried he was going to get bitten to death at the end of this.

Tsuna didn't know the full details, but the gist of it was that he was free to stay with Bobby until Hibari managed to find and contact his mother. Which meant he was basically stuck in America for an unknown amount of time until this could be sorted out, since Hibari was _not_ happy about Tsuna's kidnapping in the middle of his territory.

Tsuna was more or less safe where he was, since none of his kidnappers were aware of the monster attack or that he had been moved, and until they knew what was going on it was better for him to stay in one place until things were sorted out.

Bobby and the two brothers didn't look happy about the fact that the poor kid was misplaced, but they weren't going to send him to a potentially dangerous situation.

Once things calmed down and it was safe for Tsuna to return home, Hibari had a relative who could insure that he made it back to Namimori without any...hiccups.

In the meantime Sam decided to help Tsuna learn how to read English, since his laptop didn't have the alphabet the boy was familiar with. If only so Tsuna could do his classes online, as they had no idea how long it would be until things settled down.


	64. Flames of a Black Cat Chapter One

Wasn't this an annoying predicament. He had thought he had gotten used to a lot of things. Advanced technology, clones, weird ass powers, the insanity of the criminal element (or just humanity in general)... but this? This felt like fate was deliberately mocking him and telling him that some things were impossible to escape.

Perhaps he should start at the beginning.

He had lived to a ripe old age of fifty before croaking the first time, a rarity considering he used to be a paid assassin for Chronos. After the mess with Creed and Eve, he had more or less settled down.

Then he woke up a squalling infant. A _girl_ , no less.

He had not been pleased.

Here's where things deviated from what he remembered. Apparently after he died, he had been immediately reincarnated. Which kinda sucked because he was really hoping to see Saya again.

For the first few years he had been dormant, blissfully sleeping off the sudden reincarnation. Then something jarred him loose and he ended up with a massive info dump into the body of a five year old little girl who was given the rather adorable name of Hotaru, or 'Firefly'.

Pretty fitting since according to Japanese folklore fireflies carried the spirits of the dead.

He had a twin brother by the name of Ieyasu, though there was something decidedly off about his parents.

Iemitsu was an idiot, but there was an undercurrent in his aura that he had recognized immediately as dangerous. One visit after the memory dump (which strangely happened two years after being woken up so abruptly...Iemitsu lived abroad and gave ridiculous lies as to his real job) was enough to cement his opinion of the man rather firmly as "delusional, narcissistic and a complete pain in the ass to deal with if around". Iemitsu had this annoying vision of a happy family and it didn't take a brain surgeon to realize he would go to great lengths to keep the vision intact, even if it meant doing far more damage than good.

Ieyasu was a typical kid, Hotaru's younger fraternal twin to be exact (he was born twenty minutes after his sister on the fifteenth) and wasn't really a bad person. Just a bit spoiled, but he still cared for his older twin.

Nana though... she had sent alarms ringing through his head the second he had processed what was going on. On the surface she seemed a good, if ditzy mother who maintained an oblivious attitude to reality.

However he had seen right through that in a few weeks of careful observation to try and figure out what had sent warning bells going off every time she was around him alone.

Nana had untreated depression, which was only exasperated by the fact her husband was gone for months, if not years at a time with limited to no contact or even a simple notice he was alive. She wasn't suicidal, thankfully, but her deliberate attempts to remain oblivious to the fact the man wasn't there against the social stigma of being a single mother raising two kids while her husband was gone for long periods of time without a decent explanation was taking a toll on her. She wasn't completely unaware of the rumors about her or her children, but she pretended not to notice and it was hurting her inside.

Ieyasu, who had no idea something was even wrong with their mother, bore a striking resemblance to their father and as such Nana doted on him as a replacement for the man. Almost to unhealthy levels, but fortunately for his concern there was no sign of Nana trying to force her son into her husband's image to a point he would have intervened directly.

It wasn't until he registered that the woman seemed to unconsciously focus more on her 'youngest' child and almost completely forgot about her daughter that he had figured out what had sent off the warning bells.

While the current status quo was being carefully maintained, it wouldn't take much for the balance to tip and Nana to focus entirely on her son and forget her daughter without even realizing it. The depression made it even easier for such a thing to occur, and Hotaru apparently had a bullying problem since she was five after Iemitsu's last visit with his "boss".

It was fortunate he had managed to figure out how to move without tripping over his...or rather 'her' feet by the time Iemitsu had returned. That had been annoying, but at least Hotaru wasn't considered the bottom of the class after summer break. He had long since mastered how to speak and read most Japanese, among other languages and it seemed luck was on his side because quite a few of the languages he had learned before had almost identical equivalents here.

By the time they were about to turn eight, Hotaru had come to realize that her mother was slowly starting to forget she even _had_ a daughter.

Now by this point she (and he had come to a point where 'he' had accepted that they were now a girl who had the mentality of a boy) realized they had a few options available to them. Especially after accidentally summoning Hades to their side. Apparently even in death, their trusted gun never left their side. Except it seemed that the gun had gotten something of an unusual upgrade, because it no longer needed actual bullets to be lethal.

Oh she could load them into the gun, but as long as she was breathing they never actually ran out. A few experiments revealed that in place of bullets, shards of lethal _ice_ would blast from the end of the barrel only to melt after a few minutes away from her. Oddly, it wasn't just bullets.

She could produce a variety of weapons with a little concentration and a _lot_ of practice made out of ice. Fire, for some reason, seemed to more or less elude her...but it felt more like someone had deliberately put a block on that ability so clearly that idiot who called himself her papa had something to do with it.

However it seemed that no matter what world you were on, the criminal underground remained the same. She might have had to travel to another city for a bit to find it (it was oddly absent in Namimori...something about a demon brat that took offense to crimes and bit anyone they caught to death with tonfas of all things), but once she did she blended right in.

Her old aura of a trained killer had never fully disappeared...she had just buried it deep and tried to forget about it.

Hotaru could stay, hope that her mother pulled through and tried to have a normal life.

Considering the entire town felt positively caustic to her sanity and her intelligence with the way everyone seemed to immediately target her for reasons she could never fully explain, she nixed that idea pretty fast. It did not help that she knew far too well how easily Nana could turn against her and treat her daughter as the 'cause' of why her husband was never around or any other perceived slight, just to have a scapegoat.

Since she didn't want her mother or twin to turn on her for something that was beyond her control, she began making escape plans. So long as she had Hades, she could survive on her own with no problem at all.

Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't killed before. She had made her peace with that line of work a long time ago.

Hotaru downed her drink. Thinking about the headache of avoiding a _ten year old_ who apparently didn't like the fact she was leaving his territory always made her want something strong. Hibari Kyouya was weirdly possessive of her for reasons she never did figure out, and took extreme offense that a 'small animal' was leaving when they weren't a legal adult.

Hibari really needed a hobby...it was a pity he was too young to get laid because he could seriously use it.

Hotaru mused to herself...it had been shortly after leaving Japan that things got, well rather annoying really.

She hadn't intended to take up her old profession as a killer-, but it was probably inevitable.

Bounty hunting was nearly impossible, as it meant being a little too close to the 'legal' side of things. Which meant well meaning but annoying adults trying to send her right back to the very situation she had left in the first place because of her age.

Being an assassin might have been doable...if it weren't for the fact that the same group her 'father' had close ties to as the External Adviser also had an elite group that sounded like a less moral version of Chronos. With her skills they would have noticed her pretty damn fast and tried to recruit her, and last she checked they weren't inclined to take 'no' for an answer. With her limited fighting ability she wouldn't have been able to avoid being drafted whether she liked it or not.

Which left the third option, since she needed a sustainable method of gaining income that wouldn't involve the authorities or giving up and going back to Namimori.

She became a hit man. Which was rather ironic, because she had gone from 'trained assassin' to 'Sweeper/bounty hunter' all the way to 'freelance hit man'.

It seemed she was forever doomed to end up with a rather bloody career that made a habit of taking green rookies and either chewing them up and spitting them out, or making the really good ones rather apathetic and cynical.

It was ridiculously comforting to go by her old name again, just without the ties that it had before or having to worry about a pissed off group of other assassins after you for wanting your freedom. She even had her old tattoo XIII on her chest again.

Black Cat was now an up and coming hit man who was very, very good and would always deliver their now signature line when delivering a death blow. No one was aware she was actually a girl and she liked it that way because it meant no one would try to use her gender against her.

There was some annoying rumors that the 'Black Cat' might very well be a contender for the spot of the "World's Greatest Hit Man", which was currently held by Reborn the Sun Arcobaleno...and previously another by the name of Renato Sinclair. The thing that annoyed her the most was the fact that people kept wondering if she was some illegitimate child of "Renato Sinclair", because he had dropped off the grid and no one was entirely sure what her own lineage was. Apparently her skills with guns was eerily similar to his own.

Sensing the presence of another, Hotaru didn't even bother to look. If they wanted to cause trouble she'd gladly oblige them.

"Ciaossu."

There was only _one_ person she had heard of that used that odd greeting. She looked down and sure enough, there was Reborn himself.

He easily got onto the stool. As this was a mafia bar, no one quibbled about his 'age'.

The two of them drank in relative silence, both relatively secure in their own skills to end a confrontation rather violently if it came to it.

It was as she ordered another drink (milk this time, which made Reborn twitch until he realized _she_ was planning to drink it and not offer it to him) that she spoke up.

"So was it the rumors that I'm trying to steal your title or the ones that I'm supposedly some illegitimate love child of a known playboy who held it previously that brought you here?" she asked blandly.

Reborn blinked, before commenting right back "The second, really. Skills like yours don't pop up out of nowhere, and I have a vested... interest...in any children claiming to have Sinclair's bloodline."

She drank her milk.

"I know who my father is, though to be honest I wish he wasn't."

"Bad home life?" he asked.

"No, he's just an idiot who thinks that the cover story of him working in the south pole for a construction company is actually _believable_. The fact he didn't recognize his wife has depression and is drowning in her little fantasy world says far too much about his competence...the narcissistic bastard. I doubt he's even realized I left home after his last visit."

Considering she _had_ kept an ear to the ground for any rumors of that sort, she could safely conclude that Iemitsu had either forgotten he had twins or believed whatever lie Nana had come up with to explain why she wasn't at the house when he visited. She certainly hadn't found any competent watchers around the place and Hibari had given her more trouble than any adults.

Reborn almost felt relieved and at the same time disappointed.

"What's your famiglia?" he asked.

"Considering my father is part of an external group, I honestly have no idea if I can claim to be part of it in the first place. Besides, I like being a freelancer more," said Hotaru easily. "And for the record, I have no idea who started that ridiculous rumor that I'm trying to take your title. I certainly never really cared about it much."

She could tell Reborn was starting to like her, if not as a friend then a possible acquaintance. It was rare to make 'friends' in their line of work and trust didn't come easily.

Seeing the little lizard on his hat, she decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while.

"How exactly do you pull off a Chaos Shot? Is it your little chameleon or some weird energy blast?" she asked curiously.

Reborn smirked.

"Trade secret."

Hotaru, in a rare fit of childish behavior, stuck her tongue out at him. Reborn looked openly amused by it.

They were about to finish their drinks when some cocky moron came in and attempted to kill Reborn...only to end up knocked out by a rather fast blow by an annoyed Hotaru.

"I could have handled that," commented Reborn.

"I know, but he interrupted the first decent conversation I've had in months with someone that's actually intelligent and not trying to drag me into some famiglia or another," commented Hotaru. She made a face. "If I have to deal with one more Sky trying to lure me in I'm going to start knee-capping the lot of them. Maybe _then_ they'll take the damn hint I'm not interested."

Reborn actually laughed at that. He could relate.

Still he was somewhat relieved (and a little disappointed) when the cup he swiped to do a DNA test against came up negative. At least he had dispelled that particular rumor of having a child...not that it was possible, considering the Black Cat was far too young to be a direct descendant, unless he they were his grandkid or something.


	65. Flames of a Black Cat Chapter Two

Reborn had thought that would be the end of his interaction with the mysterious Black Cat. Out of all the relative 'rookie' hit men out there, the oddball girl had been the one that stood out in his mind. Considering his own reputation that was quite the feat.

Black Cat hadn't been impressed or terrified when they recognized him. They had treated him as a casual drinking partner and potential acquaintance without once reminding him of his small size and apparent 'age'. (Though he would admit the milk thing had thrown him for a few seconds until he realized she planned to drink it herself.)

The entire meeting had felt like a drink between equals, without any expectations or demands. It was...nice. Almost like he was with Colonello debating about guns or Shamal about women when he was still in his true age.

Except not even three months later, Reborn saw Black Cat again. And it made him frown because there was something slightly off about her that took him several minutes to figure out.

Apparently the girl had a cold, but was still coherent enough to fight when she stumbled upon his student's big breakthrough as a mafia boss.

Her aim was just a bit off, but it was enough that she was able to at least hit what she intended.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Dino.

Black Cat swayed a bit, looking at him blearily. Reborn easily managed to get a better look at her eyes, before he cursed.

"I think Black Cat has the flu. They're certainly feverish enough and it is the season for it," said Reborn. She was definitely running a bit of a temperature.

"Wait, _this_ is Black Cat?" said Dino gawking, before the hit woman nearly passed out. Why she wasn't in bed was a mystery, because she was clearly having trouble just staying upright. He quickly caught her and his expression when he registered her gender was rather amusing, but overall not important. "Romario, can you get the car?"

Romario didn't ask questions...they were already going to have to clean up after this particular mess.

"Is it safe?" asked Dino.

"From what I've heard of Black Cat, they won't be inclined to kill you in your sleep. Besides, they clearly need the bed rest and are too stubborn to stay put," said Reborn.

Which wasn't entirely true, but the limited information he had on the hit woman said that she wasn't the sort to stab someone who helped her out in the back.

* * *

 _Three days later..._

Reborn was present along with Shamal who was about to check the girl's temperature when they notice her beginning to stir. She tried to burrow into the pillow before she heard Shamal's voice and nearly jolted up.

Her eyes, now that he got a good look at them, were rather cat-like and were a distinct shade of amber that looked _very_ familiar. Little wonder she took the name "Black Cat", because with that choker and bell combination and those eyes she could be mistaken for one in low lighting.

"Where am I?" she asked somewhat hoarsely. She coughed a bit and quietly accepted the glass of water.

"The Cavallone guest house," said Reborn simply. It was within the limits of the mansion security, but separate enough that the odds of her making it into the main house without being spotted were very low.

"What?" she said in shock.

"You passed out from the flu, and Dino had you brought here," said Reborn. "Were you aware that the Petra famiglia were raiding your...apartment...when we arrived?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I heard they were planning to make a move on me, hence why I was out of bed in the first place. Stumbling into that shootout was not what I intended."

"You've been out cold for the past three days, and you're underweight to boot," said Shamal.

"Kinda hard to buy groceries when I don't take many hits and have to pay rent," she snarked.

Reborn frowned at that. With her skills she should easily be able to afford decent places and groceries. She took one glance at the look on his face and snorted.

"Just because I'm a decent hit man doesn't mean I _enjoy_ it. I might be a stray cat but I do prefer to stick to one place and work from there. The problem is I draw too much attention so half the time I'm dodging idiots trying to drag me into their famiglia to the point I have to move to get any peace," she said tiredly. "It's simply easier to eat cheap meals on the go than actually cook."

Reborn could sympathize with that. He could remember all too well the annoyance that was being a freelance hit man just making a name for himself, having to dodge multiple attempts to draw him into a famiglia. First because of his skills, and then because he was the strongest Sun.

"Well you should be able to get up and leave within a few days, maybe three," said Shamal. "Or within the next two, if you plan to be stubborn about it."

Dino knocked, even though it was his house.

"You're awake! You had a really high fever when you collapsed!" he said with relief...before promptly tripping on nothing.

"I see the rumor of the Cavallone boss being extra clumsy without his men is true," she said dryly.

Dino winced. That was not how he wanted this first impression to go.

"Then again I was extra clumsy when I was a bit younger, so don't feel bad."

That did make him feel slightly better.

"So... Black Cat is a girl?"

"Do you have _any_ idea how annoying it is trying to make a name for yourself as a hit man when you're a guy? It's ten times worse when people know you're a female. Everyone expects you to suddenly act like a cat in heat around powerful Skies and they get extra annoying about it, or to go the whole floozy route when it comes to doing jobs," said Hotaru in open annoyance.

There was a reason she idolized Daniela Vongola and it had nothing to do with the fact she was a Sky. She would kill to get an autograph from the woman.

"So...how old are you?" asked Dino. He was really curious about her, because she was becoming very well known in a short amount of time. It wasn't just her skills...that would have made her interesting but not noteworthy.

No, most of it had everything to do with the fact that almost no one knew a thing about her. The mystery behind her true identity and who she actually was got most of the bigger names interested, especially since no one had a clue what her flame type was. The big money was on Cloud, since she was clearly a 'stray cat', but if that was the case then the real question was what her territory was. She didn't really exhibit the more violent cloud behavior patterns, but she definitely wasn't an inverted one like the Cloud Arcobaleno Skull.

She was tricky, but she didn't use any of the familiar 'mind games' of a Mist and outside of her gun always being present, no one could pin a single instance of her ever using illusions.

Some speculated she was a Sun (mostly due to the rumor she might be related to Renato Sinclair or possibly Reborn himself), but she was far more discreet than Reborn had ever been and didn't really draw attention to herself.

"There is one thing I don't get though...why do you have a seal on your Flames?" asked Shamal.

Hotaru turned to look at him oddly.

"My Flames?" she repeated incredulous. "I didn't even know I _had_ any."

"A seal?" repeated Reborn, sitting up.

"It's old...she would have been about five, maybe six at the least. And it's starting to fall apart...it almost feels like Swiss cheese to be honest," said Shamal.

Something was eroding the seal at a fast rate, and it felt strangely cold.

Reborn looked at Hotaru oddly.

"How old are you?" he asked.

Hotaru did a bit of mental math in her head...it wasn't like she bothered to keep track of her birthday since she didn't have anyone to celebrate it with.

"Almost seventeen, I think," she said. "It's been a while since I bothered to remember how old I am."

Mostly because mentally she felt much, much older. She had over fifty years of extra memories to work with, after all.

"Do you remember anything?" asked Shamal. From what he could tell, the girl had _active_ Flames when that seal was applied and there was no telling what sort of damage that could do to her. It was a miracle she was this well adjusted.

Then again kids were pretty resilient.

"I remember the moron who calls himself my father showing up with an old man who insisted I call him 'grandpa', then blacking out shortly before they were due to leave and feeling really cold and sluggish. He had a rather fancy ring on his finger and the idiot acted more like a subordinate than anything. Pretty sure that the old man was his boss, or close to it," she said after a moment, before looking at Shamal. "Is there anyway to remove it?"

"From what I can tell it was applied by a Sky, and not a very experienced one. The seal itself was half assed and is barely keeping your Flames behind it...it doesn't help that whatever you've been using has been eroding it at an accelerated rate...it might collapse on it's own in a year or two, possibly more," said Shamal.

Hotaru thought about that, and quickly figured out what was making the seal erode.

She was already involved in the mafia, but did she really want to add Flames into that?

...Nah, not really. Not unless she had to anyway. As it stood now she still had a chance to go civilian since so few knew anything about her. If she were Active then she'd have a much harder time adjusting back to 'normal' life.

Hearing her stomach rumble (it had been four days since she had been able to hold down anything solid), she blushed.

Reborn seemed more than mildly amused at the way Dino was interacting with the hit woman. From the way she reacted it was clear no one had bothered to properly flirt with her before. Then again very few people were even aware of her gender.

Which was why Reborn didn't chastise Dino when he openly considered asking the mysterious hit woman as his temporary date to the upcoming Vongola ball. It was a relative boring affair, not really worth noting save for the fact that the Ottavo would be present along with the current boss.

Black Cat seemed interested (she was a fan girl of the Eighth Vongola boss, surprisingly enough), but she was adamantly _against_ putting on a dress.

"Can I at least have a name to call you?" asked Dino. He could live with his date wearing a suit...she was boyish enough to pass as a guy.

"...Hotaru. My real name is Hotaru," she said, having great trouble looking him in the eye. Stupid hormones.

Dino brightened at that.

"Your real name is 'firefly'?" asked Reborn amused.

"I'm half Japanese and I spent most of my first eight years living in Japan," she deadpanned.

* * *

Daniela was looking forward to the upcoming ball. Mostly because her Intuition had been going off like crazy lately that something chaotic...but in a good way... was going to happen then.

She could only hope she got to enjoy it when it did.

* * *

Hotaru was annoyed, there was no other word for it. At least it was a kimono and not some ridiculous outfit that showed more skin than cloth.

"I don't know how you got me into this thing, but if anyone recognizes me I _will_ may you suffer," she growled.

Dino laughed nervously.

"I had nothing to do with picking the outfit out... Reborn insisted he handle it," he admitted.

Hotaru glared at him.

"Just for that I'm going to dangle my family name over your head while you drive yourself nuts trying to figure out which famiglia I might be part of," she said annoyed.

"Is that a challenge brat?"

"I'd like to see your expression when you find out what my father does for a living, old man," she countered.

It was almost like having Sven back. Almost.

Dino watched with morbid fascination as Hotaru and Reborn bickered with good nature. She might be uncomfortable wearing a kimono, but she seemed to calm down around Reborn. Which was rather strange, because he put most people on guard. Even stranger was the fact that Reborn seemed to be openly enjoying himself and was actually _relaxing_ around her.

He had to admit, it was really nice being around Hotaru. She was a bit snarky, but she was _very_ cute when she smiled.

"Any idea where the bathroom is around here?"

"Down that hallway, and take a left at the second door," said Dino, pointing it out.

"Thanks."

Hotaru wasn't really enjoying this party. It was boring and she had to deal with way too many interested parties around her.

Besides, she was avoiding Vongola Nono like the plague the second she recognized who he was. The last thing she needed was for that senile old man to make the connection between the girl he sealed and the mysterious hit man known as Black Cat. She liked her freedom too much.

It took her a few seconds to register bumping into someone, but when she did she nearly went into total fangirl mode.

It was Daniela Vongola, the Eighth Vongola boss!

Daniela smiled at her, clearly not that bothered about the minor mishap.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting anyone to be using this particular bathroom when the party is in full swing."

"Not much of a party," commented Hotaru. "I've seen college dorms have more fun than this place."

Daniela grinned.

"I agree. My son's taste are far too boring. So who did you come with?"

"Dino Cavallone. I'm his plus one, though I will be getting Reborn for choosing the outfit. I normally don't wear anything like this."

"Too Asian?" she guessed.

"Too feminine. I hide my gender for a reason, and most of it is to avoid the ridiculous stereotypes that female hit men have to deal with," Hotaru corrected. Seeing Daniela's interest, she grinned. "I'm Black Cat."

"Not that delightfully mysterious hit man who always delivers the line 'I've come to deliver some bad luck' to their targets!" said Daniela with surprise.

"Well every time a girl says they're a hit man people automatically expect them to be a fem fatale or to use their gender to get their targets into bed. Having a small bust makes it easier to hide as a boy and get recognition without seeming cheap."

Daniela's eyes gleamed.

"I know exactly what you mean. It was such a pain getting taken seriously when I became the Eighth, and even then it took going through a massive war _and_ holding the family together before anyone realized I wasn't just a pretty face!"

Seeing the younger girl's interest, Daniela cheerfully kidnapped Hotaru to tell her all about being the Vongola Donna during WWII.

 _With Dino..._

"Have you seen my date?" he asked. She was taking some time in the bathroom.

Reborn snorted.

"She was kidnapped by Daniela," he replied with amusement, pointing her out.

Sure enough Hotaru was chatting amicably with the former Vongola boss, who was looking rather lively.

Reborn snorted. It looks like the Black Cat had made a new best friend.


	66. Rage Against the Night Chapter One

There was someone sleeping in the room, completely dead to the world with their head on the table and well worn clothes. Closer inspection revealed it was a girl, though her age was debatable. Considering how loose her clothing was she could be anywhere between fourteen and sixteen.

As the room filled up with the others, Renato continued to eye the sleeping female with mild interest. She hadn't even reacted, let alone moved since he came in and he was one of the first ones there.

The others let her sleep, as she was clearly exhausted. Or they would have, had it not become clear from her flames she was having a nightmare.

Renato, as the one closest to her, went to lightly shake her shoulder in order to wake her up.

Only to have to dart back as the girl woke up in an instant, lashing out entirely on instinct with a semi-sharp knife. Renato eyed the minor bit of damage to his suit thoughtfully...she had good instincts if she was able to catch him off guard.

Jade green eyes blinked for a moment, and she still look just barely lucid.

"Where am I? And who are you people?" she asked rather bewildered. In accented English, not Italian.

Renato stared at her, before replying.

"You were sleeping with a knife in your hands and you have no idea where you are?" he asked.

"I was planning on gutting the next person who went to force more drugs down my throat to keep me sedated. Maybe if I killed enough of those backstabbing bastards they'd get the hint and leave me the hell alone," snarked the girl, yawning. "Where is this place anyway?"

That had their attention and not in a good way.

"You were drugged?" asked Fon.

"You're in Italy," commented Renato.

"...So I guess that weird man with the ridiculous mask and costume actually managed to remove me from that cage they shoved me in. I should probably thank him, even if I have no idea who you people are," commented the girl.

That settled their question of how she got there and why, but not who she was.

The girl politely listened to their introductions, before giving them a name that was quite likely faked. If she had been drugged and thrown into a prison, it made sense she wasn't about to trust others very easily.

"Call me Jade."

"Alright then Jade...how old are you and when did you activate your Flames?" asked Renato slowly.

Unlike the idiot Cloud, this girl clearly had some bite to her.

"My what?" she asked, staring.

Fon helpfully conjured up some of his Storm flames, which had her staring.

"Is _that_ what they're called? Wait, what's today's date?"

"August third," said Renato.

"Well in that case I just turned sixteen four days ago, and my 'flames' went active around the tail end of June," said Jade.

"Who is your famiglia?" asked Renato.

"My what?" said Jade baffled.

"Your family," clarified Viper.

"The last person I would call family died the same day my flames went active," said Jade slowly.

"Are you telling me that you're a _civilian_?" said Renato incredulous. Once was a coincidence they could ignore, but twice? How exactly did someone miss a Sky this strong in their bloodline?

Jade glared at him and it had far more bite than it should have. Renato had to automatically dismiss the idea of 'useless civilian', because there was something haunted in her eyes that said she didn't have a nice childhood or life until this point, and was therefor far more prepared than the Cloud was.

He had the sneaking suspicion that becoming part of the mafia was actually going to be an _improvement_ in her life, rather than a nasty shock.

"Do you have any place to stay?" asked Viper.

"I was quite literally removed from a room after being repeatedly drugged, and I have never left England before in my life. What do you think?" deadpanned Jade.

That didn't sit well with any of the mafia-raised Elements. The second someone figured out what she was, there would be idiots after her in a heart beat.

"You planning to keep an eye on her until later, Viper?" asked Renato.

"I have a safe house nearby, and this means free information on our potential Sky," said Viper evenly. "Though if you have the money to pay me that would be even better."

"I'd have to find out where my bank branch is first," said Jade. "It's not like I have anything better to do with the inheritance I was left with. I also cook and clean, so if you have a recipe book you can cut down on eating out."

Viper seemed visibly pleased hearing that.

* * *

Jade seemed to look around her with wide eyes, not really caring about the 'mission' they were given.

She followed Viper easily enough, though the fact she still had that knife on her was left unspoken.

The second they reached the apartment, Viper made sure to lock the door before bluntly stating...

"I know who you really are and why you kept silent," said Viper.

She stiffened.

"I'm not going to enlighten them about the magical enclaves. However I would like to know in a bit more detail what you meant when you said you were kept deliberately sedated," said Viper.

"Why?"

"Because it gives me a chance to impress the current head of the family enough to get back into the vaults that were taken from me when Cygnus kicked me out," said Viper. "Apparently it wasn't enough I had been a Slytherin with high marks...he took particular offense that I didn't give a damn about blood purity so long as it made me money."

Jade stared at him for several moments.

"So just to be clear, your main motivation is money."

"Money won't betray you and it gives you more power than fear or charisma will," deadpanned Viper.

"...So if I wanted to sue the hell out of the bastards who kept me caged for several months in a house that belonged to the family that they were guests in originally..."

"Then I would be more than happy to help get your pound of flesh so long as I got a healthy percentage regardless of which side they belonged to," said Viper immediately.

Jade's smile was anything but pleasant.

"I have the feeling we'll get along fine...cousin."

"So which one of the Black sisters was your mother?" asked Jade.

"Bellatrix. You have no idea how pleased I was hearing she was dead," said Viper. "How did you accomplish that, by the way?"

"I don't really remember. I remember seeing Sirius fall through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, and realizing that there was a very high chance that she would get away with it because of Dumbledore's stupidity about putting threats down permanently. It felt like a weird warmth filled my body, followed by a haze of pure rage. It felt like there was a film being removed from my mind as I slit through twelve Death Eaters. The next thing I knew I was being hit with multiple stunners, followed by Dumbledore telling me I would have to remain in Grimmauld place 'for my own good' and for the 'good of others'," said Jade in disgust.

"Sounds like you went into a mixture of Hyper Dying Will mode and Black Battle Rage," commented Viper. "Likely why they kept you sedated."

"Black Battle Rage?" repeated Jade.

"It has multiple names, but the effects are the same. Those in a full rage become unstoppable weapons of destruction who will go through anything and anyone who gets in their way. Pain will not effect them, their magic is heavily amplified beyond normal limits, and they will not hesitate to brutally murder anyone in their path. Most people fear the Blacks for that very reason, though I heavily suspect that it's mostly due to people awakening a Cloud secondary and not having any idea how to properly channel it," said Viper.

"Cloud?"

"Reinstate me in the family and I'll give you a general overview of yet another secret society that you've been dumped in."

"How?"

"We can go to Gringotts in the morning. Considering you were completely out of it earlier, it would be better to come at this with a fresh start and some food," said Viper.

"So...I'm the head of the family?"

"Exactly how much did they keep from you?"

"I was treated like a house elf ever since I was big enough to reach things like the stove, and told absolutely nothing of my heritage," said Jade angrily. "Worse, I had very little chance to do any research and no idea where to look because one friend was an overachieving bitch and the other was a lazy bastard who was only interested in chess, food and Quidditch and complained if I did more than the assigned reading. I don't know if they were deliberately sent my way to keep me ignorant, or if they just fell prey to Dumbledore's bullshit and thought he knew better than everyone because of who he was."

"It's also entirely possible they fell prey to Sky Charisma, and thus naturally fell more in line with his Sky rather than yours. Even if he never did go active like you," said Viper. "That isn't to say it excuses their actions, but it meant they were more easily swayed."

"What about you?" asked Jade.

"I have no reason to want anything to do with that hypocrite and just as much reason to hate England as you do. Bellatrix was my mother, after all and thanks to her actions I have to hide my face from the magical sector," said Viper bitterly.

If he was surprised by the hug, he didn't show it.

"So long as you have the decency not to stab me in the back, we'll get along fine. Especially if you help me sue those bastards to hell and back for caging me."

"Deal. Are you hungry or would you rather sleep first?"

"Considering they started drugging me by using food, I'd rather do the cooking myself. And since I wouldn't have the first idea where you put your personal poison collection, if you have any..." said Jade.

Viper snorted.

"If need be I'll eat dry cereal in the morning from an unopened box."

* * *

Viper took Jade to the nearest outlet mall, and gave the perfect cover story for why she had nothing to wear.

"My cousin's dirtbag ex-boyfriend destroyed all her clothes and left her without anything to wear. Could you help her find a new wardrobe? I already have a set budget," said Viper.

"Sure thing!" said the chipper salesgirl, her sympathy on overdrive after hearing that. She took one look at the rather respectable budget and began to drag Jade around the store. It was perfectly clear she wasn't going to let the girl leave until she had at least three pairs of clothes that fit properly.

Viper smirked and went to get something to eat. This might take a while and he had no idea how long she would spend shopping.

At the very least they'd be putting her new messenger bag that he put an expansion charm on to good use.

The only reason he even suggested it was because the clothes she had on were _barely_ acceptable and the most he did was convert a decent amount of gold into regular currency, which meant he wasn't actually _paying_ for this shopping trip. They had already gone far over budget with books and other 'feminine essentials'.

Viper had been pleasantly surprised that his cousin was almost as frugal as he was. She hated spending far too much money on brand name crap and preferred the generic items, unless it came to food.

If she couldn't make it, she went brand name quality. A fact he was inclined to agree with, especially if she could make such delicious meals like breakfast this morning.

"I feel rather violated and ridiculous," said Jade flatly.

Viper turned to look and nearly choked on his drink.

Talk about a major difference.

The clothes she had on before hid her actual figure far too well, but what she had on now made it painfully obvious how skinny she was. However with properly fitted clothing she actually looked closer to her actual age. All she needed was a proper hair cut and she might even be enough to suit Renato's tastes in bed mates.

Renato wasn't the only one staring at their potential Sky. They all were, save for Viper who looked completely bored.

"...Talk about a major change."

Jade glared at him.

"To be fair, the clothes she had were in dire need of replacement and her wardrobe was a complete joke," said Viper disinterested.

"Are you trying to court her or something?" asked Renato. "Last I checked you'd never spend this much money on anyone."

"He's my cousin, actually, and he merely paid the fees to have my accounts moved to Italy and the rest sealed off," said Jade.

"Your cousin?" said Fon with interest.

"Second cousin once removed on his mother's side. My paternal grandmother was his great aunt," said Jade.

"As fascinating as this is, can we get on with the mission?" asked Lal pointedly.

"Agreed," said Verde.

"What exactly are we doing? I'm afraid I was still working off the drugs they dosed me when I woke up last time," asked Jade.

Well at least Renato could respect her somewhat professional behavior. Jade didn't even flinch at the fact they might have to kill during the mission, considering they were robbing a place.

Though any chance of him dismissing her as a 'clueless civilian' like he had with Skull went out the window when she was not only able to waltz right in to get the files with Fon as back-up, but was able to keep up with the Storm the entire time.

She definitely had Fon's respect with how smoothly she had slipped into the shadows to steal the files, and how calm she was the entire time.

"You have experience in this," commented Fon.

"Far more than I would like. It's easier to sneak around unnoticed than it is to go in guns blazing like an idiot," admitted Jade. "Besides, this way we can leave traps to insure we make a clean escape on the way in, and watch the fall out afterwards."

Fon's smile was a bit sharp, but he radiated clear approval at the tactic. He could already tell he'd like this Sky...she had no illusions of her skills and was far too aware the dangers of being too hasty while on assignment.

* * *

Fon wasn't entirely surprised when Jade left the room that Viper looked at all the males with a dead serious aura about them and proceeded to lay down the law. He felt that the Mist was being rather generous, really.

"Let's get one thing straight. I could care less if any of you decide to pursue Jade as a woman, rather than just as a potential Sky. However if you plan on simply using her as another one night stand (Viper looked pointedly at Renato when he said this) then I am obligated as her only remaining family to completely annihilate you."

"You make it sound like you could," said Renato.

"Renato, I can do so much more than simply destroy your mind. I just prefer not to because it brings up annoying memories," said Viper coldly.

Fon eyed Viper for a moment, before calmly asking "Lion, Badger, Eagle or Snake?"

"Snake, and I will be asking you later exactly how you knew to ask," said Viper immediately. "For future reference, Jade was a lion, but there was almost no loyalty among the majority of them...including her so called 'best friends'. I suspect she _may_ have Guardians, or at least Elements among them, but I am reluctant to confirm that at this time because most of the damage done to her was by people she should have been able to trust."

Renato wasn't the only one to nod at that. Clearly Jade needed a clean break from wherever their employer had rescued her from, and Viper wasn't about to bring up any false obligations that might cause problems later. At least not until she had a full set of Guardians able to keep her safe.

"Are you really cousins?" asked Fon curiously.

"My mother was a member of a very old, very established line that had certain ideas of who was acceptable to marry. To put it in simple terms they never fully accepted the fact that the English nobility had lost most of their power, and so kept only to 'acceptable' lines. Unfortunately they had no issues with marrying 'in-house' so to speak so long as certain qualities were present."

They didn't have to read between the lines of that to realize that Viper's family still thought inbreeding was acceptable.

"Exactly what happened to her?" asked Fon.

"She went Flame active and one of her secondaries is Cloud. I don't really need to elaborate what happens when a Cloud goes into a rage, do I?"

"She has a Cloud secondary?" said Renato.

"Mist and Cloud are fairly common in our family. However when one of us awakens as a Cloud, there can be...side effects. Imagine a Sky with Cloud instincts going active when the closest thing to a father figure they have ever had was murdered right in front of them, with no real adults or authority figures willing to do what was necessary to take out the one responsible or deal with them later. Imagine that same Sky being put under so much stress and responsibility because the _adults_ assume it's their job to fight in the front lines of a war they were dragged into."

Seeing the collective wince of the others, Viper continued.

"Now imagine that the only 'support' she had was a Sky who is so delusional that he believes he can redeem someone like Renato and _not_ expect him to go right back to his old habits in order to make a living, and who refuses to allow any of his men to kill the enemy in the hopes of 'redeeming' them later. How do you think that Sky would react, seeing a rival stronger than them snap under the pressure and take out the active threats in a permanent manner, without giving a damn about any thoughts of redemption?"

"You're telling us an older Sky had her captive because she killed the one who murdered her father figure?" said Lal.

"To be more specific, she killed my mother for murdering the head of our family...who coincidentally happened to be Jade's godfather and my cousin," said Viper bluntly.

"...And you're perfectly fine being Jade's Mist despite the fact she killed your mother," said Renato slowly.

"My mother was a woman who wouldn't hesitate to torture children and complete innocents in the name of her Sky. And out of that side of the family, Jade is really the only one I would even admit being related to," said Viper bluntly. "So just to clarify, if I find out any of you hurt Jade by breaking her heart, I will not hesitate to end any of you in a way that will leave a warning to the others."

After hearing even a fraction of what happened to her, the idea of hurting her like that never even crossed their minds. Even if Viper wasn't giving them the full details, just the gist of it was enough to make a general idea.


	67. Rage Against the Night Chapter Two

Viper confronted Fon while they were partnered together for another mission. Jade seemed to fit right into the mismatched group, but it was a bit of a trial and error sort of deal as they quickly began to figure out that while she definitely needed support, she _loathed_ being treated like glass.

Considering the implications that the older Sky that had caged her had originally been conditioning her to become a weapon against a Sky that had deliberately broken his own Flames, they adjusted their behavior accordingly.

"So how did you know to ask which house I was in through the animal that represents them?"

"I'm a potionsmaster, with a minor mastery in battlefield medicine. I could have been a healer but I didn't want to bother taking the oaths that prevent me from healing anyone who needs it, magical or otherwise," said Fon. "I could easily brew a Purging Broth, as I really dislike the idea that Jade could still have some lingering damage being done by the potions they used on her."

Viper blinked.

"How do you know they used potions?"

"Magicals eat through modern and illegal pharmaceuticals very quickly... and from what little you told us I suspect Dumbledore was the one who had her imprisoned. And considering I do bother to keep up with the news from over there, if only through my cousin, I can only assume that she is the missing 'girl-who-lived'," said Fon bluntly.

"...While I appreciate the offer of brewing the potion I've been trying to get my hands on, we need to wait. Right now she's _very_ unstable emotionally and I would prefer she had at least one or two fully bonded Guardians besides myself to act as an anchor before we start fixing all the damage. Just to warn you, she has an alarming amount of basilisk venom and phoenix tears in her bloodstream and it's still being integrated into her core from when she was bitten at twelve."

Fon's eyes widened at that tidbit.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to adjust any potions accordingly," he replied. "What do you mean she's unstable?"

"I suspect her godfather was partially harmonized with her Sky, so losing him tipped her into awakening what's collectively known as Black Battle Rage. I suspect Dumbledore is fully aware of what it was, but not the full implications of it...he likely planned to use her as a weapon he could direct and then dispose of after the fact. Imagine using Cloud Flames to propagate not just your abilities, but your magic and flames as well...then add an increased pain tolerance and an almost instinctive ability to go into Hyper Dying Will mode."

Fon winced at the idea of facing someone like that. They'd be a _nightmare_ to kill off, and heaven help any poor bastard on the wrong end of it.

"Now imagine that she's amplifying _all_ aspects of a Sky Flame, and being able to access all of the six other flames tied into it. All while the harmony factor keeps her from tipping over into Discord, but still able to draw in other flames or tip them into a Rage on her behalf."

"Dear gods..."

"The thing is that the Battle Rage can only last for a set amount of time, usually when all the visible targets within the area are dealt with. After that you crash and crash hard, and come back completely lucid and in control of your emotions. However once it's been awakened you experience an amplified Cloud Rage," said Viper. "There's a damn good reason the Ancient and Noble House of Black is feared, and that's a major part of it."

Fon could understand why, if that sort of gift was in their bloodline.

"And the Sky?"

"That I fully blame on her paternal grandfather's line. There have been no records of Skies in the Black family as far as I recall, but there have been several in the Potters. Which makes it only natural she would awaken as a Sky with strong Cloud secondaries and an almost equally powerful Mist," said Viper.

"Well since potions are currently out, I can at least alleviate some of the pain she must be in. I've noticed her chi has been either blocked off or has been twisted in several areas, and I could easily get it flowing properly without having to put her under."

"It might open up a way for her to trust you as a potential healer," said Viper.

Finishing up their task, Viper waited for them to collect payment before leading Fon to an almost private safe house to broach the subject of healing Jade.

"Fon is a potionmaster and he's agreed to brew anything we need to fix whatever it was that those fools did to you. However we'll need to purge anything in your system first," said Viper bluntly.

He found that Jade responded best to blunt truth, so he would oblige. If he didn't want to tell her anything, he stated so outright and she was polite enough not to ask unless it was relevant to a life or death situation.

He found her a refreshing change of pace and a very willing enabler with his information brokering business. Snakes were so very useful at gathering information and hiding in plain sight with audio and video recorders.

Jade froze at the mention of potions, and for obvious reasons.

"Do I get a choice in the matter?"

"We are going to wait until you're a bit more comfortable with us and have another person bonded to you other than Viper before I begin brewing a Purging Broth. However there is something I can do to alleviate some of the pain I suspect you're in and it does not involve magic of any sorts. Just pressure points and a place to crash while your pathways properly reset themselves," said Fon. "I also have a few healing runes you can verify yourself that can be applied for a general healing session."

Jade seemed to relax slightly at that. She was far too used to having those older than her make all the decisions without even asking her first.

"How long will this take?"

"About twenty minutes for the pressure points to be unblocked, and the runes can be applied and left on over night...however they work best with skin contact," said Fon honestly. "There might be a bit of sharp pain once the points are released, but that's mostly because of all the blockage I've been sensing in your aura."

Jade looked at Viper.

"Do you trust him?"

"Fon is known to be honorable, and if he wanted you dead he has a habit of stating so outright. There's also the fact he could easily become your Storm Guardian and healing the damage done would go a long way to forming a bond. Elements and Guardians require a certain level of trust before harmony is properly achieved between the two," said Viper.

Fon decided to take that assessment as a compliment. Though Viper had hit his personality on the head... he would have given Jade an overt warning that he fully intended to kill her outright before actually going after her, purely because he instinctively recognized a fellow warrior.

"So what exactly would I have to do?" asked Jade.

"Mostly just sit still on a stool while I use a bit of my own chi to unblock the pathways. Once I've done that it should start flowing immediately, but as I said before there might be some pain involved considering it clearly hasn't been flowing correctly for some time and there's a considerable amount of build up," said Fon.

It followed what little she knew of acupuncture, and even she knew that there were certain pressure points that could directly effect the human body.

"...I'll give this pressure point thing a try first," said Jade after careful consideration.

Viper created a stool for her to sit on, and Fon pulled out a few needles from within his robes. They were specially treated ones that allowed the one holding them to channel their aura a bit more precisely and made it easier to hit smaller points.

"I'm going to get started, so you'll feel a slight pinch at first," he warned her. "Try not to flinch."

Jade sat perfectly still, and as he warned there was a slight pinching sensation on her back. Almost like she was being bitten by mosquitoes at several points that started to itch, but she managed to hold still.

"This is the last one, and I'll apply the chi directly once it's in," warned Fon.

The second he did, she felt an immediate difference. From an itch to a strange fire that spread across her body, to an indescribable warmth. There was pain, yes, but she had endured a cruciatus at point blank range from Voldemort and it was nothing compared to that.

The last thing she felt before blacking out was an untold amount of relief pouring over her body, as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She barely registered Fon catching her.

Fon frowned slightly as he removed the needles. He had _felt_ the magical block up being corrected and from the amount she had let loose it had been left untreated for several years. There was also the matter of her core being bound by something that felt like an old spell meant to keep young children from over exerting themselves from accidental magic.

Which was beyond strange, because such a thing _should_ have been removed within the first year of magical education... that spell would have hindered Jade's natural magical growth considerably if it had been left on past her magical majority.

Any competent healer _should_ have noticed it with a basic scan and removed it promptly.

It certainly explained most of the blockage he felt though.

Fon noticed with some amusement that Jade seemed to positively cuddle into his side.

When she was awake, she was highly defensive and clearly expected to be betrayed at any point by those around her. Unfortunate, but highly understandable considering what she went through.

Asleep though... she relied purely on instinct and seemed to know who to trust. Fon had the suspicion she might be more inclined to trust him if her instincts were allowing her to curl into his side while completely out cold.

"She's like an abused tiger cub," commented Viper, when Fon put Jade on the couch with a pillow and blanket. "She might be wounded, but there's still a lot of fight in her. The trick is to get past her defenses long enough that she actually trusts you. From what I understand once you have that, her loyalty is unquestionable... however while she might forgive betrayal she most certainly won't forget it."

Fon hummed in his throat. His cousin had limited information on that tournament that cost her a potential husband, but what little she did impart suggested that Jade's previous potential Storm had been foolish enough to let jealousy overtake three years of friendship.

It did not help that her Lightning, by all accounts, preferred to see the world purely in tones of black and white and was far too reliant on authority figures and the written word to be of any real use.

And while Viper suspected there were a few guardians, the issue would be contacting them and making certain that their bond with her was stronger than any potential bond with the senile goat who caused so much damage.

* * *

Jade woke up the next morning feeling far better than she had in a very, very long time. So long in fact she couldn't really place how long it had been.

Fon could tell an immediate difference in her unspoken behavior towards him. There was a definite undercurrent of actual trust now, though she was still very leery of taking his word at face value.

Fon stared at the results in his hand, then his face twitched. Twice.

"That bad?"

"...Would you mind helping me file a sanctions with the ICW?" asked Fon. "I'm afraid it might go over better if they have a relatively recent graduate to complain about the conditions there, since I doubt they would take Jade seriously."

"Bad, then," said Viper.

"Let me put it this way... You said the only healer she had any _consistent_ time with was Madame Pomphrey, correct?" asked Fon. Viper nodded. "This woman is either an idiot or she's completely out of touch with the obvious if she missed even half of this. There are a number of things that would have come up with even a general scan, and no healer worth their oaths would have let it go uncorrected. They'd be kicked out of any legitimate or acceptable circles in a heart beat."

"And if Dumbledore told her to do nothing?"

"Then she would still be kicked out. Healers and those that take the oaths are bound by magic to remain _neutral_ and treat any charge in their care equally, particularly if they're under seventeen. The only reason _I_ never took the oaths is because my position with the Triads would have made it awkward and it would have limited my ability to heal others without magic. My name is still considered relatively respectable among those circles, so if I were to present this evidence it would open up a very nasty inquiry towards the school at the very least. And it would force them to bring in all her previous patients for the past twenty five years, at best to see if she missed anything else."

Viper's face twitched, before an evil grin appeared.

"You write up what you need to file sanctions and have it triple checked so they can't claim we missed something and I'll have the goblins file it as the Steward of the Potter and Black families. This will be on top of the lawsuits I've been filing on her behalf against the so-called 'good guys' for imprisoning her just because she woke up a bloodline ability that is already well documented."

Black Blood Rage might have multiple names and signs, but it was a well documented bloodline ability that sprang up occasionally just like the Metamorphamagi gift. It was just more violent and didn't really require a direct lineage to manifest, just extreme stress and the right conditions to be met.

That Dumbledore openly imprisoned and drugged her in her own home once the gift manifested while she was putting down the very people who killed the previous head of the family would go over very, very badly with the pure bloods.

Though odds are what would _really_ piss the pure bloods off was the way that the Order had been openly abusing the guest access Sirius had given them and had basically treated the townhouse as their little club meeting spot. The memories of Molly bossing the man around like she owned the place was pretty damn telling of the attitude they had, especially since no one dared to tell her off for being rude.

Fon went to work. Jade was well on her way to making a proper bond with him, and he knew that Viper would happily pay for any potion ingredients he needed if it meant getting the head of the family better after she was lead around like a lamb for the slaughter.

Viper knew conditioning when he saw it, and the fact Dumbledore was well on his way to making Jade into a weapon royally pissed him off.

* * *

Jade looked at the newspaper article (not the Prophet...too unreliable) and stared.

 _ **Sanctions against Hogwarts! Teaching staff questioned for competence!**_

"What?"

Viper looked far too smug, and Fon just looked vindictive.

"I delivered a copy of the test results to the group that regulates and deals with mediwizards, healers and those who are legally allowed to learn healing magic, with a copy of the memories that clearly show Madame Pomphrey was your primary healer," said Fon.

"Why?"

"Because she is either incompetent or being bribed to look the other way on an alarming number of disturbing health issues. At the very least the fact she missed a basic spell designed to limit accidental magic past your first year after that incident involving the stone brings up whether she is even capable of doing her job in the first place. Those wards would have had a very detrimental effect on your core and magic if they had stayed on past your majority. Never mind the fact you had scurvy more than once, which would have required several potions to correct. A lot of things came up on the most basic of basic scans all healers are required to know to keep their license, and the fact she never treated it means she's going to be in a _lot_ of trouble," explained Viper.

"But Dumbledore..."

"It wouldn't have mattered if Dumbledore told her not to, little willow. Healers are oath bound to be neutral entities and she would have had the power by the school's charter to override him as long as it pertained to a student's health. The fact you were never taken to St. Mungo's after being bitten by the basilisk is going to come back to haunt her badly. She will have her license revoked and will be unable to practice medicine at any acceptable practice and she won't be allowed to open her own. And before you try to defend her, she is an adult and she is old enough to know better," said Fon gently.

Jade slumped...then her mind registered what he called her.

"What did you just call me?"

"Little willow," said Fon smiling.

"Why?"

"Because much like the weeping willow, while you may bow your head from grief and sorrow, you remain strong enough to take what the elements throw at you and stand firm regardless."

Jade blushed at that, which had Viper smirking and Fon smiling.


	68. A Sky's Flock Chapter Two

Tsuki had been feeling icky for the past two days and she had no idea what was causing it.

Uzume took one look at her before she grimaced.

"Hey Miya? I think we're going to need to make a shopping trip soon."

"Why?" Miya asked, popping her head out of the kitchen. Then she saw Tsuki's expression and understood. "Try not to go overboard with the chocolate."

At Tsuki's baffled expression, Uzume cackled.

"I make no promises!"

What followed was beyond mortifying and yet highly informative. Since Tsuki had actually _skipped_ the mandatory Sex Ed classes when she bypassed her middle school years online, she had no idea what a period was. And with how oblivious her mother was, she would have no idea how to handle it and would have suffered some minor humiliation for a while from the other girls in her school had she stayed.

Fortunately she lived in an inn filled with several older females and a _highly_ sympathetic male who wisely did not ask why there was suddenly a large stock of chocolates in the pantry. Or why there were a few more feminine supplies in the bathroom and supply closet.

Takami, when she heard the story, laughed and laughed once she got over the news that there was a twelve-going-on-thirteen year old girl living in Izumo inn with her mother in another city and no father figure to speak of.

She offered her sympathies for Miya...and discreetly offered her support since the woman had never actually raised a child (much less a teenager) before.

(Miya quietly accepted the offer, so long as Karasuba was never brought to the home. Ever.)

* * *

 _A week later..._

Tsuki was coming home from class, and had only belatedly realized when she asked what the date was from someone next to her that it was her birthday.

Considering how past birthdays had gone, she wasn't going to expect much. Especially since she hadn't told the others when it was.

If Nana had forgotten it with depressing consistency until well into the night, then why would relative strangers bother with it?

So she wasn't that surprised when she didn't hear an answering "Welcome home" from Miya, who was likely out shopping. Or anyone else for that matter.

As she opened up the door to the dining room, she nearly jumped out of her skin in shock when she heard "Happy Birthday!" and realized that the entire room was set up for a proper party, including gifts.

"Hwa? How... how did you know today was my birthday?" she asked in shock, completely dumbfounded that they had set up a party for her.

"Partly because Matsu hacked your files (the red head waved at her, though she was still pouting over Tsuki yelping because she thought the other girl was a ghost one night), but also because Akira-san came to remind us," said Uzume cheerfully.

Tsuki blinked at her, then peered at an unashamed Matsu.

"You hacked my files?"

"It wasn't that hard. Did you know they still have you listed as a student of Namimori Middle School? You have quite a number of 'unexcused missed days' racked up by now," said Matsu grinning.

"I'm still trying to get that fixed, by the way," added Akira.

Uzume eyed Tsuki oddly.

"Is this really the first time you've ever celebrated your birthday?"

"Mama always forgot until last minute, and was always late trying to get a present that usually ended up in the closet forgotten about. I doubt she even remembers my actual age at this point," said Tsuki.

And don't get her started on her _father_ sending gifts. That jerk (whoever or wherever he was) always sent them months late and oftentimes the presents were better suited for small children! It was like he still thought she was five or something.

She was completely unashamed to donate nearly all _those_ gifts to local orphanages since she would almost certainly never use them.

"Well Miya cooked up something extra special, so why don't we dig in before she brings out the cake?" suggested Uzume.

It was so surreal, actually _celebrating_ her birthday and not as a half-assed measure because her mother remembered halfway through the night. More to the point they had the right number of candles on the cake and the gifts were all appropriate for a thirteen year old, as opposed to simple stuffed animals or clothes that would only fit for a few months before they were donated.

She might be short, but she was _still_ a growing girl.

It was easily the best party she ever had, bar none.

Homura had gotten her some new language books, since she seemed to have a knack for learning them (she was almost fluent in Italian, English and simple Mandarin at this point). He also gave her a new cell phone complete with a set amount of texts and minutes on it.

(Takami had been appalled at the fact that a thirteen year old girl was so desperate to leave her home that she couldn't even afford something as common as a _cell phone_. The phone in question was on the same plan Homura used himself.)

Uzume had gotten several new clothes that she knew Tsuki could easily grow into (including some undergarments that would allow her to switch once the first set got too tight) and suited Tsuki's style... Tsuki was somewhat amused that a number of them were cat themed, or had paw prints on them.

Miya had gotten her a new apron, since the one she owned was a bit too big for her to use without almost tripping on it. She also got her a "Sailor Moon" themed bowl and chopsticks with a picture of Luna, Artemis and Diana on the side and a crescent moon in the background that were a cheerful orange color.

Matsu, being the tech savvy one and having heard of the headaches Tsuki had doing her 'real' homework on public computers since she didn't have one at home, got her a brand new laptop with all sorts of neat extras and already had the WiFi password on it.

(Tsuki had practically hugged the stuffing out of the red head for that one, since she hated having to use the university library to do the online assignments.)

Akira had brought over several birthday cards from Namimori from the people who had gotten to know the girl during the investigation, and a slightly used music player with songs already on it that Tsuki might have mentioned she was partial to during their meetings.

Tsuki's smile hadn't abated in the least the entire party. It was nice having actual friends and people around that cared about you.

* * *

She stared, and she really couldn't help it. She had heard something so stupid that it required an incredulous look not just from her, but from every single female with maternal instincts within hearing range.

"Excuse me?" she said baffled. There was no way this guy was _that_ stupid. Or if he was, then he was clearly a pervert and thus to be avoided like the plague.

"I said would you like to go out with a date with me on Friday?" he asked, with his most charming smile.

"That's what I thought you said. You _are_ aware that I'm only thirteen, _right_?" she asked slowly, as if talking to a complete idiot. Considering she could see several of the older girls sharing _Looks_ that did not speak well of this idiot's continued ability to procreate or sully the gene pool with his stupidity or perversion, she at least felt safe enough to express her disinterest in the idea.

She might be taking college classes, but there was _no way in hell_ she was going to date ANYONE from her school. Some of the teachers already gave her a bad vibe as it was!

"Seriously? I just thought you were a midget or something."

" _Excuse me?!"_ she hissed at him.

Her disbelief turned swiftly to ire. Fortunately she didn't have to deliver feminine retribution for that crack about her height, because quite a few people around her were more than happy to do it for her. Besides, her kick wouldn't have nearly as much impact.

Tsuki somewhat got along with her classmates, in that they accepted her as one of them without trying to drag her into places she had no business being like bars. Originally they had groaned, thinking she was some sort of child genii or something and was thus too smart for her own good, but seeing her struggle just as much as they were (if not more) to pass classes had created an odd sort of camaraderie between them. She wasn't some high and mighty genius, nor had she bought her way in.

She was just a lonely kid who had found a loophole out of a bad home life and was trying to get by. She was adorable and sweet, and most of the girls in her classes had almost immediately likened her to a kitten.

Her official nickname at school was Koneko-chan, and she was quickly learning to answer to it.

The older girls looked at the pervert with disgust. There was no way he was _that_ ignorant of the fact Tsuki was clearly too young to be attending college normally like the rest of them. Though at least now she could stay out for the official (and some unofficial) study groups since she could call home to let Miya know she would be out late. And with her new laptop she got her homework done that much faster...though her grades were usually better if Homura had the time to give her little bits of useful information.

It wasn't often, but he did occasionally help and Matsu was a wealth of information when it came to research.

"You seriously need to sign up for some self-defense classes," said Micheala, a girl from America.

"I can't afford it," sighed Tsuki.

Though she would _love_ to attend one considering how much difference the ability to fight back could have made with her former bullies. Then again, Hibari-sempai might have taken notice of her long enough to see if she was worth fighting. She felt for the poor guy... he was clearly a warrior born in the wrong time and was forced to deal with people who considered fighting more of a sport than anything. It was no wonder he was going stir crazy looking for someone decent to play with that would bore him to tears.

When she brought up the incident at dinner, she was surprised by the dark looks shared by the other residents, including Matsu.

"So some idiot actually asked you out for a date at school?" said Uzume.

"Unfortunately for him it was in a public area with lots of very unhappy witnesses who were quick to disabuse him of the idea," said Tsuki. "One of the girls suggested self-defense lessons, though hopefully what they did to him will be enough to discourage some of the more idiotic men on campus for a while."

Homura and the others shared a look. She couldn't even begin to guess what they were thinking.

 _Later that night..._

"She's really too innocent for her own good," sighed Homura.

"I can't believe someone had the audacity to ask her out!" said Miya incensed.

If Tsuki had been attending a _normal_ middle school this wouldn't have been a problem, but the girl was a thirteen year old college student! Every other person attending the school was at least six or seven years older than she was and far more experienced! She had just started puberty a few weeks ago, for god's sake!

The mere _thought_ of an grown man asking out someone who was still legally a child made her blood boil.

"Uh Miya? The mask is showing," said Uzume nervously. Normally that thing only came out when Miya was disciplining the other residents for misbehaving.

Tsuki was such a well behaved kid and still too young to hit the usual triggers, so she had yet to witness the terrifying thing.

Miya took a calming breath, but she was still pretty irate about the incident even if nothing had happened.

She was rather happy Tsuki's first reaction to the offer of a date had been outright disgust, rather than interest.

"I can look up some local dojos for martial arts and see if we can't find one that suits her," suggested Matsu.

"Why not have her train with Miya?" asked Uzume.

Miya quickly shook her head.

"Tsuki doesn't have the right temperament for weapons, let alone a blade. She would be much better off with straight hand to hand combat," said Miya.

Her physical condition was _barely_ acceptable for her age and size. Miya wasn't sure if she was malnourished or what, but her stamina was rather pathetic.

Homura sighed.

"It's almost too bad she's not an Ashikabi. It would make things so much simpler."

"If you forget the fact it would mean she'd be stuck in Minaka's sick game," snarked Uzume.

"But a Sekirei would be able to protect her at school and Takami would have a lot more freedom to act indirectly to protect her. You know that idiot doesn't like it when something he considers trivial interferes with the 'game'," Homura pointed out. "There's also the fact that it would mean her 'mother' wouldn't be able to remove her from here, even if she wanted to."

Uzume grimaced at that.

Nana Sawada had so far proven to be a lack-luster mother for her daughter, and was still firmly in her delusion that Tsuki was still at home. But there was no telling when that would change, and once it did it was almost a certainty that she would attempt to reclaim her daughter.

Even if that attempt was likely to fail, the damage it could do to Tsuki was no joke.

They had no idea that the "bodyguard" issue would take care of itself in two short weeks. Or that they'd be meeting one of the more...interesting...residents of Namimori who was less than pleased at her "repeated missing days" with no explanation forthcoming.


	69. Second Chance for Happiness Chapter One

**My first attempt into branching out into the ABO-verse. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Okay, so perhaps jumping through the portal hadn't been the _best_ of ideas at the time and he might be stranded here, but he couldn't really complain about the results.

Even if being turned into an 'Omega' was mildly embarrassing, he had at least gotten the hang of hiding his scent and had figured out relatively quickly when to go to ground during a heat.

Honestly, he had been through far worse than somehow gaining a 'secondary gender' that would allow even a _guy_ to become pregnant.

At this point he had stopped asking "WHY?" and had learned to go with the flow. Didn't make it any less annoying when Alphas assumed they could put their hands on him simply because he was a 'weak, innocent Omega' though.

Perhaps one should start from the beginning.

At age nineteen Tsunayoshi Sawada, the recently appointed Decimo, had come to a rather unpleasant revelation that he would never truly be happy. And that any attempts to gain such happiness would end in either dismal failure, be used against him, or would be taken from him by the people around him in an effort to 'protect' him.

Case in point, his nonexistent dating life. That had come crashing down the day his 'friends' learned that he had been using his so-called crush on Kyoko Sasegawa as a beard to hide the fact he liked his own gender more. Or he had grown to prefer guys after being stuck with far too many attractive examples of them as his Guardians and dealing with the unfortunate fact that most of the girls in his life were better off as civilians...or were firmly interested in someone else, in the case of Hana.

The problem was that most of them had paired off before he had taken up the mantle of Decimo properly, and he wasn't selfish enough to try and butt in on their relationship. It really, _really_ didn't help that Gokudera was such a rabid guard dog and would investigate anyone he showed an interest in or vice-versa, even after the knowledge he was bisexual came out. And if they weren't scared off by Hayato's devotion to him, they were usually chased off by the overprotective idiots such as Hibari, Takeshi and for some unfathomable reason, Reborn.

The second reason he knew he would never be happy as Decimo was quite simply the Vongola. Ever since he became the new head of the family _everything_ he said or did always came back to it. He couldn't take up any normal hobbies simply because he _didn't have time_.

There was always mountains of paperwork (usually caused by said Guardians who were the opposite of subtle), training so Reborn and Xanxus didn't outright _murder_ him, or having to socialize with people who would all too happily stab him in the back at the first sign of weakness.

It had gotten to the point where the only way he'd get any free time would be to wait until the Eleventh Vongola boss was picked and he could shove it all on their heads. Which was likely going to be one of his illegitimate siblings that Iemitsu thought he didn't know about.

He knew paying Viper to track down all of Iemitsu's little infidelities would come in handy...as had the full profiles of the Arcobaleno so he had something to read out of boredom.

(Though he had to come up with a quick bullshit excuse about needing to know who to send in the event his Guardians were unavailable when Reborn found those profiles. Tsuna still wasn't sure if he actually bought that lie or not, but at least the training wasn't hellish.)

In the end, the only escape he could find from his own personal hell was the trio of "Idiot Scientists" that he kept on his payroll.

The three better known as Shōichi, Spanner and Verde.

(He called them idiots because they kept blowing up their damn labs and causing him MORE paperwork, the jerks.)

Finding out they had found a way to harness the power of the Mare Rings to send things to alternate dimensions (Tsuna _did_ read the reports they sent, despite popular opinion that he merely skimmed it all and signed in the appropriate places) he had known that his time to escape had come.

He just had to do it right so that he would be free of the burden that had been shoved on him by the incompetence of the Ninth generation.

First had been going into the Vongola rings and making Giotto see some damn reason about the whole succession issue. Namely the fact that he would rather hand over the title to Xanxus who actually wanted the damn job than to any of his half-siblings because he had the sneaking suspicion his idiot father would turn them into pawns for himself.

When given the choice between the disaster of having a pawn at the helm of the family or an illegitimate child that had dubious heritage, the choice was obvious.

On an unrelated note Xanxus was either going to be a very happy camper or pissed at being saddled with Tsuna's problems. Once the final preparations were complete he was not doing anymore of that damn paperwork.

Second had been actually contacting Xanxus and by extension Viper...who he then bribed to keep their damn mouths shut because he didn't trust anyone at this point not to blab and ruin his escape.

The moment Xanxus found out he was being dead serious and that he had 'dealt' with the issue that kept the man from claiming the rings for himself (which he quickly proved by having Xanxus put on the Sky ring, except this time he didn't spit up blood when he tried to channel his Flames through them) they set about a scheme that would make Xanxus 'de facto' Decimo until Tsuna "returned" from his vacation.

The fact that Tsuna had no intention of actually coming back was just a little detail that he hoped no one ever figured out. His 'guardians' and Reborn could be damn persistent when they wanted to be.

Xanxus was decidedly more cooperative after that particular discussion. And that was before he made Viper teach Tsuna how to access his limited Mist flames to create a pocket where he could store things in.

That had taken Tsuna two months to figure out before he could use it consistently without losing anything.

As such he now had plenty of cash, a few pieces of technology that he didn't want to leave behind (like his laptop and phone, plus duplicates), enough clothes to last him a month before he had to wash anything, a secondary Sky Ring Xanxus had cheerfully helped him to acquire to replace the Vongola ring (it wasn't tied to any famiglia), and of course several blueprints such as the odd 'devices' that allowed the Arcobaleno to become free of their curse along with an upgraded version of the Box Weapons.

If he was going to an alternate dimension similar to the one he was born in, then he damn well wanted some leverage he could use! Especially if it was to keep the Vindice off his ass.

Tsuna kept his plans quiet, while he plotted with Xanxus to give the man the title he had always wanted in a way that the Ninth generation couldn't swoop in and steal it from him. He wouldn't put it past Iemitsu or Timoteo to ruin everything, even if they were forcibly retired at this point.

Once the device was ready for human trials, Tsuna waited for the idiot trio to be too tired to realize who had volunteered to try it out for them and made damn sure the note would be found by someone who would follow orders.

Hayato knew Tsuna was stressed beyond belief, and that he was trying to do enough work to get a small vacation. So once the Storm found the note odds are he'd assume Tsuna had decided to take a rare opportunity to get away from everything and would be back within short order once his stress levels had gone back down.

No one would question it until Xanxus finally clued them in, or someone paid Viper enough to get the truth.

It said far too much about the situation that the moment he had a chance to call it off, to drop the entire thing and go back to his own personal hell, that he hadn't even thought twice about jumping through the portal.

Even if he really should have asked the trio what sort of world they had picked for the first human test.

Tsuna sighed.

At least he wasn't doing paperwork anymore.

* * *

It was a scent that was driving him absolutely nuts. It had started sometime after he had gotten to the park, and he had attempted to ignore it by getting some gelato.

It hadn't helped. By the time he finished his icy treat, the scent had only gotten worse...so much so that he had no idea when he started walking towards the source, driven by instinct.

His Hyper Intuition was positively purring, so he hoped that it wasn't something bad or humiliating.

It wasn't until his shirt snagged briefly on a branch that he realized what he was doing. Still, he was far out enough that he might as well follow it to the end.

What he found was not good for his mellow, because why the hell was he following _Fon's_ scent?!

How? How in the god's name did he find the ONE park where Fon would be meditating in private only to follow that weird scent straight to him?! He had been trying to avoid the underworld outside the times idiot Alphas got all grabby on him simply because he was an Omega!

Those jerks deserved to get robbed, and at least his luck was 'nice' enough to insure a healthy amount of Flame rings to loot off their unconscious bodies on top of the cash he took from them.

Before he could even think of leaving, of saying nothing, Fon spoke up.

"You know it's considered very rude to stare," he commented.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your meditation. It was just the scent was driving me nuts and I followed it without thinking," Tsuna babbled.

Fon slowly opened up his eyes to actually look at him now. There was an odd curious glint in them.

"My _scent_ drew you here?" he asked, openly interested now.

What Tsuna was unaware of was the fact that when an Alpha released their scent like Fon had, it was usually a sign to get lost, because he wasn't in the mood to be disturbed. However there was a select few who would be _attracted_ to it instead of repelled, which was usually a strong sign that the two were compatible. Especially if the one drawn to it was an Omega.

And Fon's scent was particularly vocal of what a bad idea bothering him would be, so the fact Tsuna had followed it instead had caught the man's open interest.

Though since he hadn't been born to that world, merely dropped in, Tsuna had absolutely no clue how important scents were to others. He just kept a clamp on his own because he thought it was part of his Flames, and he wanted to avoid being harassed because of Sky attraction.

As such he was entirely unprepared for the new...stalker...he had acquired simply by following his nose and his Intuition.

At least it was someone he knew he could tolerate, rather than one of the more grabby Alphas that had been harassing him of late.

* * *

 _Fon POV_

The little Omega was far more interesting than his fluffy appearance suggested. Every time a particularly grabby Alpha tried anything with him, he would lead the fool to an alley before somehow startling them and knocking them out.

No Alpha that overbearing would ever admit to being knocked out by a tiny Omega and then robbed. Though he was curious as to how the little Omega _knew_ to steal the rings, even if he left others alone.

Almost as if the boy knew about Flames, if he targeted those specifically. Though how he startled men that he _knew_ for a fact were experienced mafioso long enough to kick their ass... that was a mystery he'd love to solve. He had the feeling it was something worth finding out.

Though he would admit, while the Omega was somewhat competent when it came to hand to hand fighting, his form was absolutely terrible. Almost as if he was fighting purely on instinct with no actual training of worth.

Fon felt particularly vindicated for his interest when the little Omega managed to give him the slip for all of a minute before busting him.

"You've been following me for the past week. Why?"

"You actually noticed me?" said Fon with well hidden delight. It took skill and good instincts to notice him when he was being extra discreet.

The teen gave him an unamused look.

"You've been watching me off and on. It's rather distracting and I keep looking for where you are," he said flatly.

Well that explained how the boy had known the general direction he was in. The teen would appear agitated until his focus settled in a rough estimate of where Fon was at the time, before calming down and continuing on his way.

It was fascinating how he had done that with such consistency.

"My apologies. It's just no one has ever been drawn to my scent before. I was curious."

The teen relaxed sightly at that, sensing his honesty.

"Well you could have just 'bumped' into me at the coffee shop or something. You didn't need to continuously stalk me for several days."

Fon's smile widened a bit in amusement.

"May I at least have your name?"

"Natsu," said the teen. "I'm going to guess you're Arashi, right?"

Fon's interest perked up even more at that.

"You speak Japanese."

And somehow instinctively knew Fon was a Storm, he didn't add.

"I'm half Japanese and I was raised there. I will never understand the Italians fascination with coffee, when tea is superior."

Fon officially liked this Omega. Not only was he somewhat skilled, but he knew which drink was superior.

"I know a good tea shop nearby. Care to join me?"

Something inside him started dancing with glee when Natsu agreed. And it only got better when the teen admitted he had an interest in martial arts, but couldn't find a decent dojo to practice in because he kept having to deal with grabby Alphas that wouldn't take the hint.


	70. Fiery Rebirth Chapter One

A pair of mismatched eyes stared at the scene before him. He was _not_ happy this jumped up ghost had taken possession of _his_ body and was using it as a puppet to attack _his_ Sky, as reluctant as he was to admit it.

That being said, he really didn't want to deal with explaining this particular ability. It was bad enough the Esterneo found out about it and abused it until he got pissed off enough to retaliate.

At least he wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of Ken and Chikusa's inept attempts in handling his vulnerable state. He hated having to wait a month before he could actually defend himself and they were barely competent.

Mukuro sighed in an annoyed manner.

" _Vongola, Chrome, I'm leaving you in charge of my body while I recover. And Birdy, if I hear even_ one _word about my weakened state I will end you in the most painful method possible,"_ said Mukuro crossly.

"Mukuro-sama, what are you going to do?" asked Chrome worriedly.

" _I'm going to show that pest why he shouldn't have picked_ my _body to act as his puppet. It's hard to explain without tipping him off anyway,"_ said Mukuro annoyed. He hated having to do this, but he wasn't going to leave everything in the hands of a boy who had been bullied extensively and was just barely coping with that fake baby's training.

He'd rather suffer a little indignity now and get it over with, than deal with the fallout if they _failed_.

Mukuro launched himself from Chrome's shoulder, and only left a trace of himself in the owl as his soul slammed into his body. Daemon Spade obviously though he was going to try and retake control...he had no idea what was about to happen.

It started as a low burn that swiftly turned into a conflagration of flames. Daemon started screaming in pain and shock as the fire ignored his powers and started to consume the body he was in.

The others watched in shock and horror as Mukuro's body _literally_ caught fire and began to self-immolate.

An odd sort of piercing cry filled the air, turning into the most beautiful music they had ever heard in their life. Great wings of brilliant orange and indigo sprang from Mukuro's back along with a long tail that flowed down to the ground.

The wings enveloped Mukuro's body as the song turned into a triumphant cry...and a blazing fireball consumed what was left of the Mist.

Stunned eyes as the flames consumed everything...and when it was over, only one sound filled the air.

The sound of a crying pair of children sitting there in the ashes of what had been Mukuro.

Chrome's maternal instincts kicked in, and she borrowed a pair of jackets long enough to wrap the infants inside. The one with mismatched eyes curled into her arms and slowly quieted down.

However it was a brief look at the child's eyes that said volumes of who the infant was.

Only Mukuro had such mismatched eyes, much less with kanji written in one.

The other one...looked like an almost identical copy save for the fact it had two normal eyes and looked very confused. Chrome managed to hand that one to Takeshi.

"What the hell just happened?" demanded Hayato.

"I think Mukuro just turned into a phoenix, or something close to it," said Reborn openly dumbfounded and in disbelief.

"A what?" said Tsuna. "And what happened to Daemon?"

"A phoenix. A middle eastern mythological firebird. When it dies, it's reborn from the ashes of it's previous body and it's tears are said to have healing powers while it's song can rouse the spirit of anyone who hears it. Capable of lifting heavy weights and instantly transporting large groups," said Reborn dumbly. "As for Daemon, that's anyone's guess, though I suspect the infant in Takeshi's arms might have an answer to that."

Mukurowl landed on Chrome's shoulder tiredly. It gave off a tired hoot.

"Mukuro-sama?"

The owl locked eyes with Chrome for five seconds, before returning back to it's standby form. She blinked repeatedly as she sorted through the information he had basically dumped into her head.

"Mukuro-sama said he'll be stuck like this for at least a month or possibly two, he won't remember anything until he reaches roughly the same age he 'died' at and will be as vulnerable as any other child. The reason he survived the labs was because of this power, but the Esterneo abused it until they pissed him off by planning to kill Ken and Chikusa because they had reached a dead-end with their 'research'," she said quietly. "He hates using it, so he kept it locked up along with his other primary because it was the reason the Esterneo experimented on him so much."

"This has happened before?" said Reborn.

Chrome shrugged helplessly, holding the infant close to her. The baby was sound asleep and she didn't want to wake it up.

"So basically you're telling us we're going to be dealing with a pair of babies for a month or two?" said Hayato.

"Can I hold him?" asked Tsuna curiously. Seeing the looks everyone shot him, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I like kids, and you might as well stay at our house until he's old enough to remember who he is. At the very least it'll be better for him than the hideout you've been using with Ken and Chikusa. If nothing else we can clean out the attic or something and convert it to another bedroom."

Ken and Chikusa...just looked openly relieved they wouldn't have to suffer taking care of an infant again. And were entirely unsurprised by the fact Mukuro had turned into a giant fireball.

* * *

Chrome and Tsuna got a crash course in changing an infant's diapers. Nana took it all in stride when Tsuna claimed that Chrome's "parents" had left her to care for her 'younger brothers' for a month or two while they were at work. Considering Mukuro and Chrome could have passed for brother and sister to begin with, it was an easy lie.

Did not stop Chrome from blushing up a storm, much less Tsuna. It was very little wonder Mukuro hated this particular ability when it offered so many blackmail opportunities. To say nothing of how vulnerable he was.

On an unrelated note, he was an adorable baby who liked practically everyone he met. Even if he did have a rather amusing habit of tossing small toys at Hibari every chance he got. Daemon was a little mischievous brat, but fortunately Tsuna had experience with Lambo.

Fortunately for Mukuro, Hibari knew that his favorite rival was a small animal at the moment and therefor not worth biting to death...even if he twitched the first time the infant managed to launch mashed peas at him.

Reborn...was having far too much amusement in gathering blackmail material on Tsuna's guardians, especially the Cloud and Mist.

However it didn't stop the teenagers all from observing the rather psychotic Mists...as small infants who couldn't harm a fly.

Mukuro was _not_ going to be happy with Haru. She insisted on putting him into many "cute" outfits because she was a sucker for small children.

Though she had to keep changing them, as Mukuro's body apparently had the ability to 'age' quite rapidly over the course of a few days.

"This is so weird... I mean mentally I _know_ this is Mukuro and the guy we tried to kill, but he isn't creepy in the least," said Hayato. He was playing with the toddler who was about the same size as Reborn at the moment.

"I know. At least he's old enough to sleep through the night and not wake us up," yawned Tsuna.

Chrome nodded, as she had been in charge of his infant form and thus was usually the first to wake up. Mukuro was a pretty easy-going infant, but that didn't mean she enjoyed waking up in the middle of the night to change diapers or feed him. Daemon on the other hand had a habit of squirming and being difficult.

"I sincerely hope you weren't mistaken, Reborn," said a voice.

Chrome and Tsuna turned to find...a tiny Hibari with a braid?

"I _know_ what accidental magic looks like. It's been a hassle hiding I-Pin and Lambo's incidents from the general public, but Mukuro is considerably stronger than they were," said Reborn flatly.

Seeing Tsuna and Chrome, Reborn paused before sighing in annoyance.

"Dame-Tsuna, this is Fon. He's here to check Mukuro and Daemon for something."

"Why does he look like Hibari?" asked Tsuna nervously.

"Because he's Hibari's grandfather," said Reborn bluntly. "Now where is he?"

Mukuro crawled to where Chrome was and lifted his arms, asking to be picked up. She did so absently, as she was used to it at this point. Mukuro was such a cuddly child and she would openly admit to enjoying the fact he liked to lay next to her at night.

Fon took out a paper talisman.

"Chrome was it? Could you have Mukuro hold this?" he asked.

Chrome picked up the talisman...and it gave off a fairly decent amount of light. Fon blinked.

"It would seem she has magic as well. I'm surprise they weren't picked up sooner."

"I was home schooled until recently," admitted Chrome.

"That would do it," said Fon.

Mukuro reached for the odd glowing paper.

If Chrome's light was roughly the same as a fairly bright lantern, Mukuro was a bonfire that nearly blinded them all. Though Daemon came close when it was his turn.

"Definitely magical, though considering you said he might have a phoenix form that amount makes perfect sense. It takes a lot more power to turn into a magical creature compared to a normal one, much less use their full abilities," said Fon, blinking to clear his vision. "They'll need to be registered and taught, otherwise it could get out of hand. We can also check with the banks to see if they're part of any established lines."

Chrome held Mukuro a little closer at that. She knew he hated needles.

Seeing her reaction, Fon smiled kindly.

"They just need a few drops of blood, nothing else. No needles required and the results take less than five minutes," he explained.

"How long will this take?" asked Reborn.

"A few hours at most. This generally doesn't take very long and once he's aged up he can join the same classes Kyouya finished long ago. This isn't the first time a magical child has been missed, and it won't be the last. At most they'll spend a few months studying until they take the required tests and then go about their lives," shrugged Fon.

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

Chrome was almost overwhelmed by the magical alley. Since they needed to get the registered, Fon lead them straight to the bank which was accorded neutral territory...and wouldn't report the fact they were "Soul Fire Active" to any Ministry. They didn't give a damn about that particular ability so long as they never caused trouble.

"What do you want, Cursed Human?" demanded the Oni.

"I wish to do a basic check for bloodline inheritance and to register two missed magical children," said Fon succinctly.

The Oni signaled one of it's younger brethren, who took them to a side room.

"Three drops of blood for inheritance test, which will cost you five gold for each test," said the fox inside.

Chrome took the knife and hesitantly cut her finger, leaving three fat drops of blood into the potion. Fon handed over five gold coins without batting an eye.

"Minor bloodline gifts, the line is too watered down to be anything more than a branch family," said the fox. "No vaults pending."

Fon deftly took a small needle and calmly pricked Mukuro's finger. Chrome promptly hugged him closer and tried to sooth the unhappy toddler she was holding.

Needless to say there was a lot of shock going around the room as the parchment practically _flowed_ with a history of bloodline gifts, vaults and family history.

"You have _got_ to be shitting me," swore Fon.

On one hand, this might explain how he survived that night. On the other hand, things were about to get _very_ complicated.

And that was before he tracked down how the hell _Harry Potter_ ended up in a mafia lab long enough to be experimented on and became Rokudo Mukuro.

The fox looked conflicted on how to handle this situation. Fortunately for him, Fon had a solution they could all live with until he found answers.

"I think it would be best to keep this quiet until _he_ is old enough to speak for himself. That should take a few more weeks, which is more than enough time to make preparations to clear up this mess."

The kitsune looked openly relieved at the out. He was not trained to handle this sort of situation and it gave them plenty of time to find someone who _was_.

A month really wasn't a long time to wait for a youkai, after all.

Surprisingly Daemon did have vaults under his own name, but it was more of a branch vault because he wasn't from the main line of the family.

* * *

 _Back in the Sawada household..._

"I take it the trip was uneventful?" asked Reborn, not really looking up from his book.

The dead silence made him put a bookmark in it and _look_ at Fon. He had a pained expression on his face.

"You and your student have officially stepped into a political mess of epic proportions," said Fon.

"...What happened?"

"What happened is that Mukuro is a missing figure of great importance to the magical enclaves that everyone has been looking for ever since he failed to show up at a certain exclusive boarding school four years ago. And because Tsuna is his bonded Sky, whatever happens to Mukuro will directly affect him," said Fon bluntly.

Though Fon was rather curious as to how Mukuro suddenly gained a twin brother of all things that had the same name as the treacherous Mist Guardian Daemon Spade. As far as he knew "Harry Potter" was an orphan with no other close living relatives, much less a twin.

Reborn looked at Fon seriously.

"How bad are we talking about?"

"Let me put it this way... the Cradle Affair would be considered a minor ripple compared to the sheer headaches you're about to deal with if word gets out that the missing 'savior' has been found. The closest equivalent I can think of would be if the Vongola had lost _all_ their heirs and Tsuna suddenly popped up out of the woodwork claiming to be the next Primo with the Vongola unaware of his existence, complete with Guardians that all looked like the first generation," said Fon dead serious.

Reborn openly winced at that.

"In the meantime I'm going to do a lot of digging to find out exactly how the savior of the English enclaves ended up in that lab. By all accounts he was hidden with his maternal aunt after his parents were murdered," said Fon.

Somehow he had the feeling he wasn't going to like finding out the truth.

"Any idea how exactly Daemon ended up as an infant as well?" asked Reborn.

"My best guess is that since Daemon was possessing Mukuro's body and had such a high affinity for his Flames, the magic mistook him as part of Mukuro. However two souls can't inhabit the same body, so magic shunted Daemon off into a new one of his own. You might as well consider them twin brothers, and there's a high chance that Daemon's life is now tied to Mukuro's," said Fon shrugging. "Magic is unpredictable at the best of times."

Tsuna had been very clear when the possibility of Daemon being the second infant was presented to him. Until the kid showed signs of the murderous Mist Guardian, he was to be treated the same as any other child.

No doubt the Primo was laughing his ass off at the predicament Daemon had found himself in because of his bad behavior inside the ring.

(Coincidentally he was, along with Alaude who couldn't stop smirking whenever the subject was brought up.)


	71. Nightingale's Harmony Chapter One

Cheerful laughter filled the air as the sound of police sirens rang in the background. A hand lashed out in the air and grabbed a rope that was knotted at the bottom, as they easily slid their foot into the hoop.

"Phantom Nightingale never fails!" the figure called out, their face obscured by a mask that was shaped like a bird's beak and a veil that flapped in the wind. Their grip on the rope was secure as the hidden airship above began to pick up speed and slowly bring the rope and the thief inside.

"Another successful haul, Boss!" reported her assistant. His silver hair blew (the parts that weren't in the ponytail anyway) in the wind, but he could care less since his green eyes were protected by the goggles he wore.

Behind him were several boxes.

"Good work Hayato. Mind taking this off my hands so I can get in?" she asked pleased.

Hayato took the statue and after putting it down in the secure box next to him (where they usually stored all small items so they wouldn't fall if the ship hit any turbulence during transit) he held out his hand and pulled her inside.

The thief closed the door, then unhooked the veil from her face and removed the mask.

The back of the mask had several colorful feathers that could be switched around (and often were, as they became damaged during a heist). It also neatly hid her actual hair color, since she found dying it to be too troublesome. Wigs were much easier.

"Is everything packed up and ready for resale?" she asked.

Hayato nodded, pushing up his goggles to rest on his forehead.

"In that case, head back to the Professor's dungeon!" she said cheerfully.

"You know he calls it a lab right?" said Hayato amused, already tapping the keys on his wrist band that remotely controlled the ship.

"Until he chooses to come out of the underground and not hiss every time he sees sunlight, I'm calling it a dungeon," she shot back.

Hayato snickered at that.

"I got the bath ready for you, so take your time. I'll let you know when we're almost to the 'dungeons'," said Hayato.

"And that right there is why I am never replacing you as my Right Hand slash assistant," she said happily.

Hayato blushed at that, but was happy for the praise.

Once he was out of the room, she made her way to the bathroom and made very, very sure that the door was locked.

In no time at all she was relaxing in the decently sized tub under a giant mountain of bubbles. She was happy to put aside "Phantom Nightingale" and become Setsuna again.

"Boss, we have about two hours before we reach the professor," announced Hayato over the intercom.

"Thanks Haya-kun," she called out.

She stayed in until she was nice and wrinkled, before getting out and washing off the remaining bubbles.

Setsuna couldn't help but think back as she sat in front of the mirror to brush out her hair.

It was hard to believe that a year and a half ago, she used to deal with attacks from all sides from her teachers, peers and even her own mother to an extent.

Her teachers had openly given up on her long before she even entered middle school, having heard from their colleagues about what a bad student she was. Her fellow students had already figured out that the adults wouldn't stop them from harassing, belittling and outright bullying her (though they were too afraid to do anything more than minor harassment thanks to the Demon Prefect). And her mother, who _should_ have supported her, was more interested in sighing over a man who was NEVER around rather than actually RAISE her daughter or encourage her to do better.

It was rather inevitable that something had to give. In this case, Setsuna had _enough_ of Namimori's nonsense and left...but not before she was firmly enrolled in online courses. She didn't want to have her options limited by leaving.

At first it had been terrifying, living on her own. But that shock quickly turned to a feeling of freedom and it was very liberating.

Once outside Namimori, no one knew who she was. The nickname that had followed her for _years_ suddenly disappeared. She was completely anonymous.

Slowly, she started to make a name for herself. Though she doubted anyone would have expected "thief" as her future career path.

Though in hindsight, the whole "Phantom Thief" persona had been a happy accident.

Giving Hayato the job of being her assistant/right hand, not so much. It had taken the poor Storm two full months before he finally started relaxing about his position.

She was just glad she managed to get him to stick to the nickname of "boss" rather than "princess" or anything that would identify her gender. His hero-worship was bad enough as is.

The air ship began to descend into a secret hanger, and they waited for the doors to close before they got out.

"Professor, we're back!" Setsuna called out.

There was a string of curses as something dropped, and the two shared a look. A rather odd alligator came into the hanger and hissed at them, as if to say "Welcome home".

Kaimen happily accepted the treat/bribe from Setsuna and the pat to the head.

At least with her and the Storm around he got fed regularly and his master had someone to remind him to take a break every once in a while.

Setsuna walked into the lab, but didn't find the professor. So the next place they looked was the kitchen and sure enough there he was with something _living_ flailing angrily in the skillet trying to strangle him.

The green haired man should know better than to try and cook, but he never learned.

"Hayato, unspeakable abomination in the skillet. I'll get to work on dinner," said Setsuna with a sigh of long suffering and tolerance.

"On it boss," agreed Hayato with an eye roll.

Honestly, even _he_ knew better than to let the professor cook. They kept the freezer well stocked with foods he could simply microwave for a _reason_.

Once the near catastrophe was averted, Setsuna stood with a disapproving look on her face.

"Professor Verde, what have I _explicitly_ stated about attempting to cook?" she said firmly.

"Don't. My scientific mind has a bad habit of turning even a simple omelet into an unspeakable abomination of nature, though we have no idea why it always happens or where they come from," repeated Verde dutifully in annoyance. It wasn't like he set _out_ to make the damn things!

"And why didn't you simply use the food we leave in the fridge pre-made or the frozen meals that we keep stocked for exactly that reason?" asked Setsuna.

Verde grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" she said, arching an eyebrow.

"I have several sensitive experiments that could be adversely affected by the microwave running!" he repeated irate.

"...Then why in god's name didn't you just wait for us to get back? I called you three hours ago saying we were returning," said Hayato incredulous. "And don't give me that 'I was too hungry to wait' line. I _know_ you've gone two days without real food and Boss made you a massive lunch just to avoid this scenario!"

Verde sulked.

Hayato tuned out the lecture Setsuna gave the older man with the odd green pacifier around his neck. For all that _the_ Verde was a genius, he was VERY absentminded. It did not surprise the teen in the least that when Verde found out that Setsuna could cook and clean and knew better than to go near his experiments when they were active, that he had allowed her to stay in his labs while he upgraded the old air ship that she had somehow managed to find and steal.

Even after he finished the upgrades and repairs, she had stuck around while she familiarized herself with her new home/transport.

And by the time he _did_ register the fact she hadn't left, he had gotten so used to having someone leave actual food within easy reach whenever he had a new experiment and a clean lab that had an assistant that knew better than to touch _any_ of the active experiments that he couldn't bring himself to kick her out. It didn't help that she had become a master at maneuvering him into his room to sleep for a few hours.

Besides, she got Kaimen to quit nipping his ankles because he forgot to feed him.

"How was your heist?" asked Verde, once Setsuna got the usual lecture out of the way.

"I was successful once again," she said dismissively.

Verde hummed to himself. It wasn't like he cared, outside of the fact that at least his source of actual food and a clean lab was able to fend for herself, money-wise.

He was still surprised she managed to find a competent, loyal Storm that was able to keep up with his genius.

He yelped when she grabbed his ear.

"Now that you've been fed and watered, _you_ are going to sleep professor. You must be tired if you thought it was a good idea to cook in MY kitchen," said Setsuna, eyes glowing an ominous orange color in annoyance.

Verde didn't argue and allowed her to lead him to his room, which used to be a complete mess until she actually made use of the multiple bookshelves within and put the number of old reference books in their place. He collapsed on the bed and was out cold within minutes. She sighed and pulled the covers on top of him.

Hayato hadn't bothered to get up from where he was drinking his coffee. He had seen this happen so many times that he was used to it.

Setsuna sighed. At least she knew Verde tended to keep his...unholy creations...limited to just the pan. It wasn't the preparation part that caused the mess (he was methodical enough to keep it contained), it was the cooking aspect itself that caused problems.

"I swear, we go through more pots, pans and skillets whenever he attempts to cook than we do beakers," she said exasperated.

She knew from long experience that attempting to reuse whatever Verde was cooking with was pointless. It never came out quite right and she'd swear that the thing was waiting to latch onto her soul and _eat_ her if she attempted it.

(Though in her defense, she had been unusually exhausted and sleep deprived when she first said that. Didn't make it any less true though.)

* * *

A figure was sipping his coffee while reading the newspaper.

 _ **Phantom Nightingale strikes again! Police left humiliated after failed attempt to arrest thief!**_

He snorted. This Phantom Nightingale was all the lower ranks could talk about. No one was sure what their Flame type was, or even if they were active, but the stunts they pulled were rather interesting and bordered miraculous considering how close the cops came to catching them a few times.

At least the name sounded vaguely original, even if it was clear that the teen had modeled themselves over the romanticized "phantom thief" genre that was so popular in Japan at the moment.

There had been an upsurge in new thieves in the underworld lately because of it, though the majority of them were anything but successful. And they kept coming up with the most _ridiculous_ of names.

The figure snorted at some of the stories in the paper. Though he would never admit it, Reborn (the man drinking his coffee) found Phantom Nightingale amusing if for no other reason than the fact that she clearly had help from a world-class scientist. That was the only way he could reasonably explain where she got so many odd gadgets, some of which should still be firmly in the testing phase.

There was also the substantial "rumor" that Verde had finally acquired a proper assistant who could keep up with him and not end up an experiment for annoying him with their incompetence.

He knew _that_ one was partially true. Someone had come in and paid him to do repairs and an upgrade on some machine or other, and when he finally finished with the commission they had stuck around. The last time Verde came to their yearly meeting his clothes had actually been clean and he had shown multiple signs of regular sleep and food for once.

Apparently the stray who had commissioned his help had realized pretty quick that the scientist needed a minder who knew what the boundaries were when it came to his labs, and had taken it upon themselves to insure that he was fed, watered and occasionally remembered to sleep once every three days and take regular showers outside of the decontamination area.

Needless to say the others had been _very_ amused to hear that particular rant from a grudgingly accepting Verde. Especially when said rant included a complaint about how it was his lab, so why the hell was he banned from the kitchens! It wasn't his fault that every time he attempted to do more than reheat food he made "unholy abominations", and she was able to defend herself from the damn things anyway so what was she complaining about?

Reborn smirked. That had been particularly hilarious to listen to, as the other Arcobaleno had learned very quickly never to let Verde near the kitchen unless they wanted to kill some random hell spawn that he had managed to conjure from ordinary ingredients.

The fact this mystery girl had the sense to kick Verde out of the kitchens and was mostly just exasperated by his inability to actually cook was very amusing indeed.

He highly suspected that this "Phantom Nightingale" was the same mystery assistant who lectured Verde every time she caught him in _her_ kitchen. It would explain a lot.

It was only as he was about to leave that he caught sight that he remembered something he didn't consider important.

His birthday was next week.

Meh, who cared? It wasn't like he had anyone to actually celebrate it with, and he was too old for parties unless he was allowed to cause chaos in the name of training.


	72. Second Chance for Happiness Chapter Two

**For those of you confused: ABO is shorthand for Alpha/Beta/Omega. Think wolf packs and their dynamic if that helps.**

 **Tsuna is an Omega, but because he wasn't raised in that world he doesn't have the "usual" behavioral patterns attributed to them...I/E overly submissive. He's more inclined to punch an Alpha in the face and rob them blind rather than allow them to dominate him.**

* * *

It took two long, agonizing (in Fon's opinion) weeks before Natsu relaxed enough around him to let him into his apartment. Which was surprisingly well kept and had quite a few familiar spices. Best of all the roof was relatively open enough to practice martial arts and to give Natsu some actual training.

Once Natsu got used to his presence, Fon was delighted to find that the other male was quite the cuddler.

More than that, Natsu was rather open to the idea of training...so long as it didn't conflict with his gymnastic classes, which was the closest thing he had been able to find. The only reason he could even enjoy that much was because the class in question was firmly an "Omega-Only" one, and they had strict rules about Alphas or Betas trying to interrupt.

Most of the Omegas in that class were from abusive relationships just trying to regain themselves before it got to be too much. Having someone like Tsuna around was helping immensely and they were all very empathetic about the annoyance of grabby Alphas.

(The fact Tsuna just so happened to beat the crap out of a few of the more unpleasant Alphas trying to reassert their dominance on their former Omega partners and then robbed them was the main reason why he never had to pay for lessons.)

* * *

 _Tsuna POV_

His life was officially weird, but at least if he had to attract a member of the future Arcobaleno, it was one that he could relax and trust.

Fon was very straightforward and much easier to deal with than say, Reborn or Viper. Though he was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to martial arts, Tsuna openly enjoyed those lessons so that was okay. Even if Fon's hands had a rather odd habit of straying to places that made him shiver.

Which he suspected was less "straying" and more "deliberate". Considering his lack of a dating life, Tsuna was all too happy to turn a blind eye to that so long as Fon never took it too far without permission first. A fact Fon was quick to pick up on and accepted.

So yeah, his life was finally starting to look somewhere in the neighborhood of tolerable, which was why Tsuna was openly looking for the other shoe to drop.

And did it ever. Not more than a month after Fon and Tsuna had started to settle into what many would consider an "Alpha-Omega" relationship, Tsuna ran headfirst into yet _another_ scent that caught his attention and made him follow it without knowing.

In retrospect, the scent should have tipped him off as to who he would find. Who else would smell of gunpowder, lizard scales, sun-kissed skin, coffee and that particular brand of chocolate he knew Reborn loved, but would deny any addiction to if asked?

At least this time he was able to cover the reason for why he entered that particular bar easily enough, after Fon elaborated on why he had taken such an intense interest in him after he made the mistake of mentioning it was his scent that drew Tsuna to him.

To be fair, he highly doubted his mother (if he had been born into this world) would have mentioned something like scent markers. She was always trying too hard to hide the pain she felt at the fact Iemitsu was never around and raising a kid as a single parent in a community oriented country like Japan. About the only reason she wasn't ostracized more was because of the fact Iemitsu actually married her and she had the wedding certificate to prove he had been born _after_ the fact, well over nine months after the honeymoon was over.

Tsuna picked out a random bar stool _away_ from Reborn and ordered the first thing that came to mind. He wasn't really in the mood for it, but he might as well have at least one drink.

So naturally he couldn't help the first reaction that happened when Reborn smirked, walked over to him and used a rather ridiculous pick-up line on him.

He choked a bit on his drink in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" he said baffled.

Because seriously, this was _Reborn_. A man notorious for having beautiful women (and the occasional guy from what he heard) falling in and out of his bed whenever he wanted it. Why the hell was he trying to pick someone like _him_ up?

Reborn smirked at him, and Tsuna continued to stare at him in no little amount of incredulous confusion.

"I said would you like to spend the night at my place or yours?" he repeated.

Tsuna had to blink slowly at that.

"What on earth would make you think I'd even be interested in someone like you?" he said carefully. It was unlikely that Reborn would try to shoot him, but you could never tell with this chaotic pain in the ass.

Tsuna idly wondered if Reborn noticed the fact he was rapid-fire texting Fon for a rescue. As someone born in the age of smart phones, being able to text without looking at the phone in question was a pretty common skill.

Even if he only really got into it after he met his Guardians, he could still text on the flip-phone had on him that Fon gave him.

He could only feel relief when Fon came in, saw what was going on, and calmly walked up behind Tsuna and wrapped his arms around him.

"You should know better than to walk into strange bars," he commented, giving Reborn a Look.

Tsuna blushed at that, and was glad he wasn't drinking anything when Reborn smirked at them both and said "You know if you wanted a threesome you should have said so."

Fon had to roll his eyes as Tsuna sputtered at that.

He was relieved that he had already paid for his drink, because they were able to leave relatively quickly.

"So what really happened?" asked Fon seriously.

Tsuna groaned.

"Remember how I ran into you the first time, before you started stalking me?"

Fon blinked, before giving him an odd look.

"You have a very strange preference when it comes to Alphas."

"I didn't even realize I was following it until I reached the bar! And the only reason I went in was so that I knew who to avoid once I came to my senses!" protested Tsuna embarrassed. "At least I texted you the second I realized he had taken a strong interest in me. I doubt I could have dealt with him the way I usually do."

Fon hummed, pleased that Tsuna had texted him rather than attempt to fend off the World's Greatest Hit Man alone. And that he hadn't even _thought_ of taking up the man's offer.

But still, it was very odd that Tsuna's preferences clearly ran towards the more dangerous individuals who could easily eat him up alive with far more experience than him.

How often could one find an Omega drawn to the scent trail of both Fon and Renato Sinclair, after all? And not be terrified at what lay at the end of it? Especially one as skittish and adorable as Tsuna?

Fon wanted to sigh...instead he smirked.

It seemed his little Omega kitten needed a reminder not to follow scent trails, though what were the odds that he would follow Renato's without thinking?

* * *

Tsuna wanted to curse. Out of all the things that annoyed him about this world, Omega Heats were one of the worst.

Fon however, looked anticipatory about the whole thing for obvious reasons.

Which was why Tsuna decided they needed to clear the air a bit, because he refused to start a relationship built on lies. Not after what it did to his mother.

"I think we need to have a talk," said Tsuna.

Fon paused, and looked at him with a serious expression.

"About?"

"How about us, and where we might go from here. As much fun as we've had, I really don't want to start calling you my boyfriend if there are certain secrets between us," said Tsuna bluntly.

Fon went still at that, before getting out some liquor. Somehow he had the feeling he would need it.

"Where do you want to start?" he asked.

Tsuna looked him dead in the eye and said "I know exactly who and what you are, and I've known from the second I first saw you in the clearing. I'm also aware of your position in the Triads and the fact you're the strongest Storm currently alive."

Tsuna could feel how tense Fon was hearing that. He was clearly worried Tsuna would leave him.

"To be fair, I've also kept a few things from you. Like the fact I'm technically part of a famiglia, though they aren't exactly aware of me at the moment and I would very much like to keep it that way."

As far as he could tell the only major difference between his world and this one was the whole secondary gender thing.

That, and the fact that Timoteo once hit upon him in a bar before he knocked the man's light's out in an alley and accidentally took the Vongola heir ring before he realized what it was pretty much confirmed he was still a 'bloodline Vongola'. Giotto had been _very_ surprised to see him, as were the other Dons, though it took Tsuna three hours to finally stop swearing when he realized what happened.

His time was still engraved in the ring, after all, even across dimensions.

"Which one?" asked Fon, somewhat worried.

"Vongola. Long story short the Primo decided to retire to Japan rather than fight it out over succession because of his Mist, and he ended up remarrying there," said Tsuna. "He's my great-great-great grandfather, if that helps. Again, do not want them to know I even exist...it was a pain getting away from that nightmare and I have no intention of returning to it unless I absolutely _have_ to."

Fon stared at him.

"I can get a verified history book if you like. I've heard repeatedly that I'm a dead ringer for him, save for the fact we have slightly different hair color and the fact I have more Asian features than he did," said Tsuna helpfully. "Though to be fair you could easily pass for a longer black haired Alaude, with Asian features."

"Who's Alaude?" asked Fon, unconsciously relaxing.

"Primo's Cloud Guardian and the original creator of CEDEF. Very much a classic cloud."

"So... you knew who I was the first day we met."

"I would have walked away if you hadn't spoken up. I had no intention of interrupting your meditation, or trying to drag you into my problems with Alphas. I just don't want my first real relationship to end up the same way my mother's marriage did."

Fon handed Tsuna a glass of strong liquor.

"What happened?"

"My father," Tsuna practically spat out the word, "Is an arrogant, narcissistic bastard who cared more about his famiglia and his job than he ever did about us. He would show up once or twice every couple of years, spend all of a week pretending he loved my mother to get her hopes up, then gallivant back off to Italy where he could cheat on her repeatedly with random women while she stayed at home raising me. I can't count the number of times I heard hear crying at night because he wasn't around and she was lonely. And the worst part? The bastard didn't even have the balls to tell her the truth. He gave her a lie that no one could believe about working construction in the South Pole and all the contact information he gave her was false."

Fon was silent.

"And you were worried I'd turn out like that?" he asked quietly.

Tsuna shook his head.

"No. I've just seen where a relationship built on lies and secrets can lead and I refuse to let mine follow the same pattern. I'd rather have honesty from the start before we think of making it a serious one."

Something in Fon relaxed at that. All his boyfriend was asking was for simple honesty, and he could accept that requirement. Especially since he had outright admitted to knowing about Flames and what Fon did already.

Fon took a long pull of his drink before pouring another.

"Well as you know I'm a neutral enforcer in the Triads, though not without effort. I can't count the number of times Skies have tried to pull me in and fail because of how strong I am, or because the Triads don't like having such a free agent like me. Though I must admit I'm surprised you already knew who I was before we had this talk," said Fon.

Tsuna smiled at him.

"I've dealt with far more annoying Elements than you. Just because you've killed people before and will likely do it again doesn't mean I have to be afraid of you. It only means I need to be there for you when you have a really, really crappy day and just need someone there to listen," said Tsuna.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"My name isn't actually Natsu. It's just an anagram of it...though to be fair I've come to hate my actual name considering how many people use this awful nickname I've had all throughout school."

Fon blinked, before mentally rearranging his boyfriend's name to make a guess at what it actually was.

"Your real name is Tsuna?" he asked smiling.

"Tsunayoshi, to be specific. I never liked being called a tuna much though, and it didn't help that I was called 'Dame-Tsuna' growing up by nearly everyone around me. I'd rather be Natsu."

Fon hugged him from behind.

"Would you rather I call you Tsuna or Natsu?"

"Natsu. The less I'm reminded of that nickname I had growing up the happier I'll be."

Fon felt openly relieved that his boyfriend suggested they have this talk, before they moved onto a more physical relationship. It was...nice...to have the air cleared between them before they got into anything serious, because it meant they could continue without worrying if the other party knew something that could ruin everything.

Fon happily cuddled Tsuna, pleased beyond belief that he didn't have to hide what he was or what he could do.

Tsuna had a rather wicked grin on his face.

"Just wait until you find out what _my_ Flame type is," he said snickering.

Because if Fon's scent had lead Tsuna straight to him, then he had little doubt they would be compatible Flame wise. It didn't hurt that he had always felt a stronger 'connection' with the Arcobaleno than he ever had his own Guardians, save for Mukuro.


	73. Love Knows no Bounds Chapter One

Eyes as black as the abyss and just as merciful scanned his surroundings by instinct at this point. He had a deadline to keep and he was damn well going to keep it. He slowly opened the door...and braced himself long before his 'attacker' got within range.

"Papa! You're back!" said the girl happily, attempting to tackle him to the ground and failing yet again. She didn't mind though, she was just happy he was home.

Renato Sinclair looked down at the petite girl hugging him with all her strength. Her mid-length dark caramel colored hair went down her back in waves and she wore comfortable, but fashionable clothing. Her wide amber colored eyes looked into his own happily as she snuggled into his side. Her name was Daniela Sinclair, though many were unaware of her connection to him.

He knew she had some _major_ abandonment issues when it came to her male role models, and he was still baffled how the girl managed to worm her way past the black hole his heart had become long enough to anchor herself there.

"Did you behave yourself while I was gone, tesoro?"

"Uh-huh! I made sure to do my schoolwork too! Plus I made dinner!"

Renato patted her head and went inside. He saw his favorites...apparently she had been really lonely while she was gone.

Once he was done eating he went over her homework and outside of a few errors it was done to his satisfaction.

Seeing him wince over a minor bruise, she went to get the herbal first aid kit.

"Where did you get hit Papa?" she asked with a tone of long tolerance and some exasperation.

The first time he came home with a minor bullethole in his outfit, she had fussed over him without _once_ mentioning the cops or a hospital. The first time she patched him up, she didn't even bat an eye over it.

"I think someone deserves a day out tomorrow," said Renato.

"Really?"

Renato had just gotten paid after a hit, not that she ever spent much when they went out. Besides, he could tell her clothes were getting a bit too small just by looking at them. A day out shopping sounded like a fun way to unwind.

 _The next morning_

"So anything interesting happen while I was out?"

"The cop next door apparently hasn't figured out the reason why the drug dealers two floors down leave me alone when I come in, despite the fact I'm unarmed and in his words 'a vulnerable kitten'. Then again he has yet to get the same memo those fools did about not pissing off the shark."

Renato, who had been taking a drink of his soda, choked for a second the second she casually mentioned a cop next door.

Though he did smirk at the way she described him.

When they first came to the safe house, Renato had taken immediate note of the drug dealers on the first floor who belonged to some low-level no-name famiglia with ties to the cartels.

While she was out getting groceries, he went to have a little...chat... with the fools about irritating a much bigger fish than them. One call to their bosses and they had all but fallen over themselves to avoid doing anything that would be considered "irritating" the World's Greatest Hit Man.

Up to and including leaving the girl under his open protection the hell alone, even if she saw something she shouldn't. If they tried to threaten her, he had made it abundantly clear he would not hesitate to pay them a little visit in the night that would leave them very, very dead in short order.

It probably didn't help that he happened to casually kill the most stupid of the trio without a second's hesitation the moment the fool opened his mouth and didn't take Renato's warning seriously. The way he did it so easily and gave the survivors a Look that all but said he would not hesitate to do the same to them if they didn't get the message was warning enough.

"So what does the cop want?"

"The idiot drug dealers downstairs and with any luck their famiglia. I pretty much busted him the first time we ran into each other, before turning him into my pack mule for when I buy groceries."

"...You turned a cop into your personal pack mule how?"

"Like I said, I busted him from the start and told him as much. He's there undercover and one word from me would result in him being full of bulletholes. I merely told him I would keep my silence and would even cover for him so that the idiots didn't catch on so long as he did me some simple favors in return," she smiled beautifically.

Renato's smirk was vicious.

"That's my girl. I'm so proud of you," said Renato honestly with dark amusement. Served the idiot right for not picking his apartments more carefully.

If the guy had done any background research he would have figured out there was a much bigger fish living there simply from the fact they left Daniela alone unmolested despite the fact she did look something like a 'vulnerable kitten' as some would put it.

He sometimes wondered how his daughter would react to meeting the woman he named her after. He didn't know why, but his little treasure reminded him strongly of the Vongola's Eighth (and only) female boss.

When they got back, Renato had the amusing sight of the cop taking one look at him and freezing in shock.

"Dani, who is this?"

"This is my Papa," she said rather proudly.

Seeing the sudden realization in the man's eyes about why the drug dealers left her alone was very gratifying. Seeing him pale when he smirked at him, more so.

Even a cop knew when he was up against a very territorial shark and he wasn't stupid enough to piss this particular one off. The sheer ease Daniela had around such a dangerous person, even if she did call him father, was astounding.

Daniela looked at her Papa with a knowing gaze.

"We're going to move again, aren't we?"

Renato merely hid his eyes with his hat.

"I'll start packing tonight, and put it in our usual bolt hole in case we need to split up at any point."

"Good girl," said Renato, patting her head.

"Why can't I just attend the mafia academy Papa?"

"Not until you explain what your trump card is that is on par with having _me_ openly allow you to call me father," he said firmly.

He didn't like unknowns, and whatever Daniela's "trump card" as she called it was, she seemed to be of the belief it was as powerful or more so than being able to call Renato her father and having him publicly confirm it in front of witnesses. Considering the amount of pull she could have with him backing her up, even unofficially, it had to be something good and he wanted to know what.

Daniela winced.

"I don't want either of us to end up on their radar. I know you like being a freelancer more than being tied down to someone who wouldn't understand you."

It was part of the reason he had never joined a famiglia...not without harmony backing it up. He would eventually grow bored or someone would piss him off and then he would have far too much trouble getting out without burning far too many bridges.

Renato felt Daniela hug him, and he relaxed internally. So long as he had her, had _this_ , he had no complaints. He had been through so much crap for years that the feeling he had around Daniela made him feel it was all worth it. So long as she needed him, treated him as something precious, he would kill any number of people to protect it.

* * *

It was as they were familiarizing themselves with the area that they ran into him.

Renato tensed, recognizing one of the few people he called 'friend'...in that if they were ever sent to target one another they would announce it openly before attacking, as a courtesy.

Daniela promptly went behind Renato, without him having to ever verbalize it or make a single move.

The long haired Chinese martial artist looked at Daniela with a rather odd expression, before commenting in Japanese _"She's a bit young for your normal tastes, isn't she?"_

Daniela bristled at that. How _dare_ he imply such a thing!

" _Don't insult Chichiue like that!"_ she hissed at him in the same tongue.

The man's eyebrows openly shot up in shock. Not just because she said that in fluent Japanese, but for what she called Renato.

"Apologies miss," he said carefully. "I was merely hoping to catch up with an old acquaintance."

"Apology accepted," she replied. "Papa, do you want me to set up the apartment or should we find another safe house?"

"Let me find out what he wants first. If he's just in the area temporarily, we can still stay here for a while," said Renato. "Go case the grocery store for now, but stay within sight and text me if you have to make an exit out the back."

Daniela kept the Chinese man in her peripheral view, but at the same time allowing her back to mostly be exposed.

"Cute girl. Who's the mother?"

"No idea. Adopted," said Renato evenly. "And I'm still trying to figure out how she pulled that off when she wasn't even seven yet."

The man, who's name was Fon, chuckled.

"Ah Renato my friend, I can see that close proximity has blinded you to the obvious."

"What was that word she used earlier? I don't think I've ever heard it before," he asked.

"Chichiue is a very respectful term for father. It's not really used casually and it shows how highly she thinks of you if that was the first thing that came to mind when reprimanding me. Hahaue would be the female equivalent for a mother. How long have you been hiding her?"

"Since she turned seven. Our birthdays are one day apart, amusingly enough. I suspect she might be part of a famiglia that was taken out, but she won't tell me which one."

Rather sensible, actually. If she was the last remaining member of a dead famiglia, then common sense would dictate she not broadcast that fact until she was older and had an actual power base to work from. Having him wasn't enough, not by a long shot.

Fon hummed, wondering how exactly Renato had missed the fact his adopted daughter was also his _Sky._ A powerful one too, if she was able to pull in someone as unpredictable as Renato without him even noticing it at such a young age.

Renato's head suddenly whipped towards the grocery store, and without thinking he went in...and found Daniela putting some Storm into a very painful hold while his buddy was already on the floor out cold.

"What happened?"

"These two were giving me a look that spelled trouble. I quit trying to avoid them when I realized they were trying to herd me in the direction of the back door," she said flatly. The Storm cried out in open pain when she twisted just a little bit.

Renato gave the suddenly paling Storm and his awakening Lightning friend a Look.

"And what..." he said icily, "Were you attempting to accomplish by trying to kidnap Daniela?"

The Lightning whimpered, and was so weak willed he wet himself under the Hit Man's unamused gaze.

"She's Flame Active!" said the Storm, trying not to shout in pain. "Boss wants to make a bid for power with another territory!"

Renato stared him down. Then gave Daniela a Look.

"It would seem, tesoro, we will have to find another area to set up in, if this one is full of such fools," he said evenly.

"Do I have to let them go?" she asked.

"Oh I'll make sure they send a message to whatever idiot they work for. Why don't you go exchange recipes with Fon or something until I'm done?"

"Is that the martial artist outside?"

Renato nodded slightly, and she let up. But not before kicking both of the idiots in the balls for good measure. Renato dragged them both outside to beat the living shit out of them.

He came back from dealing with the trash to find Daniela talking happily with an amused Fon over food.

"Am I to assume we're going to be hosting him for dinner then?"

She nodded.

"Just remember we don't have any chopsticks or the spices in the safe house," he replied.

"I may know of a market that sells them. They're not the best quality of course, but they're better than what you'll find at a normal store."

Daniela perked up at that.

"It's been far too long since I had some proper mochi or gyoza. I might even be able to find the ingredients for mapo tofu!"

Fon only had to hear the words "mapo tofu" and "gyoza" in the same sentence before he was in. He gave Daniela the most 'sad' looking puppy dog eyes before she giggled.

Renato had to withhold his own amusement when, after Fon took one bite of her cooking, he almost melted in his chair.

"I hope I didn't make the tofu too spicy. Though I'm sure I got the rice right this time."

"The rice was perfect, and the tofu was fine. I tend to add a few spicy peppers to mine anyway," Fon assured her, with a small smile on his face.

"Do you want me to put in my ear buds while you talk to Fon, Papa?" she asked, gathering the dishes.

"If you wouldn't mind," he said, tilting his hat slightly.

Daniela took the dishes and started on the water, putting in her ear buds and having them at a low enough volume that she could ignore whatever they were discussing, but still hear Renato easily when he indicated they were done.

Fon looked at Renato with open amusement.

"She's a rather beautiful girl. I can see why you're so fond of your daughter. You must be beating off the boys left and right."

Renato's aura darkened. It had been getting more annoying lately, after Daniela hit puberty and started blossoming into a young woman. She had gone from an adorable little girl to a petite, confident young woman that drew eyes to her wherever she went. He was _highly_ tempted to actually send her to the Mafia Academy purely so she would be allowed to carry a gun in order to shoot an prospective boyfriends.

He was damn well allowed to be overprotective of his little girl.

He had been lucky that Daniela was able to get a few of her female friends and their mothers to take her shopping when her "monthly friend" started while he was out on a job. They had explained the 'facts of life' to her, while Renato had concentrated more on teaching her how to get the message across that she wasn't interested to any boys stupid enough to bother her or suicidal enough to try and get into her pants without her consent.

Oddly she took particular glee in nailing the groin area with some very unfortunate 'practice subjects' who were too stupid to avoid annoying him at the time.

"So what did you want to talk about?" asked Renato.

"I was mostly hoping to share various gossip and catch up on the latest rumors," admitted Fon.

Renato relaxed a bit at that. He vaguely caught the scent of garlic, but ignored it. Daniela was likely making a snack they could eat later, or something for Fon to take with him when he left.

Fon had a rather curious expression when he tried one before he left, but thanked Daniela for the gift.

They would stick around for a week before they found a new area to settle in.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

Fon was back.

"Would you be open to me teaching your daughter martial arts? I've seen how she moves and I think she might have a knack for it."

"She did take to the lessons on hand to hand rather quickly, and she usually joins gymnastic clubs or goes to yoga whenever we set up shop... having her learn from someone who knows what they're doing and won't shy away from the lethal moves might be good for her," mused Renato.

The fact he even trusted Fon to teach her spoke volumes. He didn't like having unknowns around his daughter for extended periods. Especially since she started growing into a young lady.

Fon observed Renato's expression for a moment before he chuckled.

"Ah, Renato my old friend, you have been well and truly caught that I'm surprised you haven't noticed the truth."

Renato frowned.

"That's the second time you've said something like that."

Fon blinked.

"You mean you haven't noticed?"

Renato paused, before adding up the little clues and Fon's slightly cryptic hints.

He reached inward to his Flames to feel for any abnormalities... before his eyes widened in absolute shock as he felt the clear and distinct sensation of a Harmony bond wrapped around his core, causing it to purr content. The bond lead straight back to Daniela, who was hiding her amusement behind her hand from an angle he couldn't see directly.

"It really took you this long to figure it out, Papa?" she asked, not trying to hide her laughter.

Renato turned to look at her incredulous.

"You're a _Sky_?"

How the hell did he not pick up on that fact sooner?

Daniela openly rolled her eyes.

"Just because I have Sky Flames doesn't mean I'm going to shove my soul onto people who might not even be compatible," she said pouting. "Bonds like that are supposed to be about trust and compatibility, not about power and domination."

Fon hid a surprised smile on his face behind his robe sleeve. She had hit the general attitude of modern Skies and why he disliked them right on the head with that comment. He couldn't count the number of times he had to take a shower because some Sky tried to shove their soul onto his and force a bond, rather than work for it. It always made his skin crawl and his soul lash out in fury at someone attempting to control him, rather than forge a proper bond among equals.

Renato eyed Fon suspiciously.

"You're trying to Court her as a potential Storm, aren't you?"

"That would be a bonus, but mostly I'm rather curious as to where she found the recipe for the special gyoza buns needed for gyoza kempo. The fact she appears to have the natural inclination for my preferred style of fighting made the decision easier," he admitted.

Renato thought it over...for exactly ten seconds.

"At least if you had to catch the attention of another Element it's one I can tolerate," he said finally. Then he smirked viciously. "Besides, this means I can be an extra overprotective bastard over any boy stupid enough to date you and claim it's my Guardian instincts."

Daniela perked up at that.

"Does that mean I can finally go to the Mafia Academy?"

"Give me some time to adjust to this information and see if there's any connection between you and Fon. If I _did_ allow you to go, then I want at least one of us to pick you up from the school at all times."

Daniela smiled so widely it was like looking directly at the sun. Fon chuckled...it was no wonder Renato fell so easily for her Flames.


	74. Lilies of Fire Chapter One

***Cackles* Enjoy a Fem 1827 pairing. XD**

* * *

There was something warm against her skin. It moved up and down, meaning it was a living, breathing thing. It was the scent that told her what it was though. Very few people had such a comforting smell or natural warmth.

Feeling it shift slightly, she looked up and smiled.

"Morning, Hibari," she said cheerfully.

"Morning, deceiving rabbit."

The deceiving rabbit, or "Usagi" smirked at them.

Hibari got up first, and their long raven black hair fell down like waves on their back. It was slightly wavy from the fact they always put it in a braid every morning to hide how long it actually was, but that was a small consequence. Eyes like the finest forged steel looked upon their girlfriend with a pleased expression in them.

However it was the fact that Hibari was clearly wearing a breast band to hold back their chest that would give many pause in disbelief and outright shock.

Homura Sawada, or "Usagi" as she was known to the Disciplinary Committee and the Hibari clan, stretched, giving her _girlfriend_ a perfect view of the fact she only had a light t-shirt on and nothing else.

It was a deception that had been going on for at least three years now. Everyone was under the assumption that the heir of the Hibari clan, and the grandchild of the Storm Arcobaleno was in fact a _boy_.

A deception that the elders were all too willing to agree to when they realized that while Hibari Sakura may have been born a woman, inside her soul was the heart of a warrior that was far more "appropriate" for a boy. When all attempts to 'civilize' her to acceptable norms for an heiress failed, it was Fon who came up with the novel solution of a bit of minor deception until she either grew out of it or found someone who could handle the untamed Cloud that was Sakura.

Strangely, it was the most timid and bullied student in Sakura's school who ended up being that person.

Homura didn't have good grades. She wasn't very good at sports. Her confidence as a female was one of the lowest in the city and her home situation was a joke.

Yet the day she found out by complete accident that the infamous "demon prefect" was in fact a girl as well, she said nothing. She kept her silence and didn't run away at the threat of open impending violence if the secret was leaked. She might have flinched, but she didn't run. What started as a tentative friendship quickly grew into something more.

And, strangely enough, also developed into the perfect cover to keep the more annoying elders of the clan from forcibly marrying Sakura off to a male she considered lesser, which would only end in tears. For the boy and his family anyway.

Homura was a very well mannered girl who fit the basic profile of a 'demure, obedient Japanese girl'. Exactly what a traditional clan like the Hibari looked for in their heiress or their wives. So long as the head 'male' of the clan was strong, having a wife who quietly supported him was more than sufficient.

Fon found the fact his granddaughter was clearly a lesbian somewhat hilarious, especially since she embodied more 'masculine' traits than half the clan put together. If it weren't for the fact she had to bind her chest back, no one would ever believe the 'demon prefect' was in fact a woman. As it was, only a small handful were aware of this fact.

Fon, the two Hibari elders, Sakura's parents, Homura and Kusakabe.

As such, as long as Sakura and Homura were dating, Sakura's secret of actually being a female was quite well hidden.

Sakura stretched, which caused Homura to smirk a bit because her clothing just _barely_ covered her still developing curves.

"Want me to do your hair?" asked Homura. Sakura nodded.

Unlike Sakura, Homura's hair was somewhat short, barely neck length and somewhat spiky. This wasn't due to her personal preference, but because over the years she had found it easier to wash out anything her bullies tried to mess her hair up with if it was short. Though it hadn't happened in some time, she was content that Sakura at least let her braid back her hair to the point no one would be able to tell it was actually quite long, and not chin-length like everyone assumed.

If one were to look at "Hibari Kyouya", they would see a very masculine boy who had chin length, slightly messy raven black hair, hard steel-colored eyes and an indomitable will. Kyouya was never seen without his familiar tonfas, or the armband that declared him part of the Disciplinary Committee.

When it came to maintaining basic order, "Hibari Kyouya" was always the first name that came to mind. "He" did not tolerate 'crowding' or disrupting the peace.

Homura deftly braided Sakura's hair into a simple braid that she then wrapped securely around the other's girl's head until it practically vanished. With a few pins and ties, where Sakura's long hair had been was now barely chin-length. She hated leaving it like that when she slept, so she often let it down...mostly because the few times she did the pins kept poking her in her sleep and the hair came out a complete mess. It might be easier to simply cut it, but her hair was one of the few 'feminine' things she actually _liked_ about herself.

Hence why she braided it. It was so much easier since Homura mastered the art of 'hiding' her hair in plain sight.

That done, the two got dressed for the day. Ever since they came out in public as 'dating', Homura had slowly become brave enough to actually _wear_ the girl's uniform, rather than hide behind the male one.

Ironically it was her efforts to make Sakura actually _embrace_ her female side that caused Homura to grow comfortable enough to admit she was a girl as well. And to act appropriately.

It was as they were leaving for school that Hibari spoke up.

"Grandfather will be visiting within the week. He'll stay for a month and most and there was word he might be bringing his apprentice with him."

Homura visibly perked up at that. She adored Fon, who was sadly the closest thing she had to a 'caring parent' she had ever had in her life. Her mother might give her the basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter, but when it came to actually giving a damn about her daughter's life, there was such a major disconnect that it was painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to pay attention.

Hence why she looked forward to Fon's sporadic visits. Not only did he teach her the best styles to fight with in order to stand by Sakura's side without being a burden, but he also gave her the paternal affection she had always lacked.

He was strict, but kind. Strong, but gentle. She had always likened Fon to the wind, oddly enough. A fact that amused him greatly.

Sakura certainly didn't complain about the fact her girlfriend was learning how to fight, since the other girl had quickly reached a level where she could mostly keep up in a sparring session.

Besides, Fon usually didn't mind it when Homura cuddled with him. For some reason he was "hug-sized" as she had cheerfully put it. Sakura had to leave the room to laugh long and hard the first time she heard that, especially when Homura was allowed to follow through on the impulse.

* * *

Homura took one look at Fon's apprentice and barely restrained herself from scooping up the little girl and hugging her senseless.

Fon hid an indulgent smile behind his robe sleeve. The moment Homura received confused permission to hug I-Pin, the young martial artist looked very startled upon realizing she had suddenly gone from the ground into Homura's arms.

" _The rabbit adores small children, and the fact Grandfather has adopted you as his apprentice means you're family,"_ explained Sakura. _"In which case you had better get used to being spoiled rotten by the rabbit. She's likely to treat you like a younger sister as long as you're here."_

I-Pin looked to her amused master, who nodded in agreement.

" _Big sister?"_ said I-Pin tentatively.

Homura squealed and snuggled against the younger girl who relaxed into her arms. It felt really nice, being hugged like this and Homura didn't feel cloying at all.

" _The small rabbit does give good hugs, doesn't she?"_ said Fon gently. I-Pin nodded. _"Little rabbit, would you be so kind as to let I-Pin practice in the mornings with you? I know you have the basics down, so it would be a good experience for you both."_

" _Of course, shifu!"_ chirped Homura.

* * *

It took very little time for I-Pin to become utterly delighted by this state of affairs. Homura or 'little rabbit' was warm and inviting, and would patiently explain things to her and treated her like a mini adult. She took I-Pin's questions seriously, which was a major change of affairs from what she was used to, unless it was Master listening to her questions about martial arts.

Sakura or 'Hibari', as she preferred, was vastly different from Homura. She was like the clouds, aloof and distant. However there was a gentle fondness in her eyes whenever she saw I-Pin practicing martial arts. She was inclined to share small treats or give a rare pat on the head whenever she did well. In many respects her behavior was very much like Fon's...though she preferred not to acknowledge their relation to each other in public very often.

Sakura despised being compared to Fon, as his own title vastly overshadowed her limited reputation which was centered around a single area. Considering he disliked his favored grandchild being compared to his own skills, he also didn't bring it up.

He still found it hilarious, the way Homura dealt with any potential issues of Sakura's true gender being found out by those in town. If anyone saw her and Homura out on a date or doing 'feminine' things, such as getting their nails done or shopping for clothes, then Homura would easily tell them that she was with "Hibari's twin sister" who went to another school entirely. If anyone asked, Sakura would 'confirm' she had an identical twin, which cut off any suspicion about her gender rather neatly. And if found out, she could just as easily claim that she and "Kyouya" had switched places for the day or two. It wasn't like anyone could tell the difference.

Though in order to cultivate a case of 'mistaken identity', Sakura had come up with the ingenious idea of using tessen when she was publicly out as her true self. Tessen were 'feminine' enough to act as a weapon while still delivering an equal amount of damage as a tonfa.

So it was with great reluctance that I-Pin realized their stay was quickly coming to an end. She enjoyed Namimori, or at least being around the two older girls. They treated her presence with open fondness, rather than annoyance.

" _I-Pin how would you like to stay here and learn from the little rabbit? While she only knows the basics, being in a stable environment would be good for your social skills,"_ asked Fon.

I-Pin perked up at that.

" _Master, I can really stay here?"_

Fon smiled indulgently. What I-Pin was unaware of was that he was already hearing rumors from certain Triads about using his apprentice as a full assassin, despite her young age. After all, she had mastered the bare minimum of Gyoza-kempo and her gift made her quite dangerous. He refused to let his student be used like that and lose her innocence so young.

Far better for him to claim he left her with a senior apprentice so that she might cultivate her skills further, while he took longer and more dangerous assignments to keep the fools from using her against him.

Even if Homura's style wasn't exactly the best for I-Pin to practice at the moment. Homura practiced a 'soft' style of Martial arts, relying on speed, flexibility and maneuverability to decimate her opponents. Something as simple as a senbon launcher made her a terrifying opponent to fight and the fact she knew how to bend backwards to avoid attacks without actually touching the ground and still able to redirect her body by contorting it made her even more effective.

Unlike Sakura, who relied on speed, power and unrelenting assault, Homura was like a reed in the wind. Able to bend in many directions and fluidly move back to her original position. The reason they called her rabbit however, mostly came from the fact she looked like a harmless fluffy rabbit when you first met her.

I-Pin was a speed fighter who had quite a bit of power behind her blows. However she was firmly a hand to hand fighter, whereas Sakura was a weapon user.

Hence why Fon wanted her to train with Homura first. Not only did she have a more similar fighting style, but she also had far more patience than Sakura when it came to training with others. Sakura did _not_ like holding back and preferred to use her full strength to end fights and prove her superiority as a fighter.

Not exactly something that would be good for someone just learning how to fight.

In a way, Sakura and Homura were rather evenly matched when it came to fighting. Where Sakura embodied more of the 'Yang' energies when it came to her fighting style, Homura was firmly a 'Yin' fighter. They completed each other and could cover the other's faults.

" _The clan has agreed to let you remain under the protection of Sakura, which means that you will be living with her. However the little rabbit tends to stay over a lot, so you'll still see her often enough to train regularly."_

'Stay over a lot' was a bit of a stretch. If Homura could trust that her mother wouldn't withdraw into her ridiculous world-view completely the second she left for good, she would have moved in with Sakura and her clan a long time ago.

They weren't entirely certain what caused Nana's rather odd behavior, but there was no doubt in Fon's mind that Nana's "oblivious/apathetic" attitude towards the fact her child was extensively bullied and had such a negative reputation with no support whatsoever must come from an external source. It was inconceivable to him that a mother could be that blind to the fact their child was suffering.

No real parent would turn a blind eye to the fact her child had a broken arm for two weeks and not even ask what caused it.

(And the only reason it had lasted two weeks was because Fon arrived, found out about the injury and quietly called in the clan's "special" doctor who had Sun Flames to heal over the injury. The man was sworn to silence and would not reveal Homura's existence without express permission, for fear of Fon hunting him down and killing him without leaving a trace.)

I-Pin was openly delighted at the idea of staying. Even if she was only allowed to curl up against Homura during the day, as the older girl tended to share Sakura's room whenever she stayed over.


	75. Divergence Chapter One

It had seemed 'cute' at first, until it quickly wasn't.

It started shortly after Tsuna met his father's "boss" who insisted the five year old little boy call him grandpa, as he certainly looked like it. No one noticed the boy stiffen for all of a few seconds when the old man patted him on the head with a hand that had a rather ornate ring on it.

That night little Tsuna had the _worst_ nightmare of his young life. It had started out fine, with odd dreams about a boy who looked an awful lot like him living a very lonely life until an odd man with black eyes and oddly curly sideburns appeared. Then it shifted slowly into something a bit more scary for the little boy.

There were big fights with really scary people, like the man with mismatched eyes, or the one with a scarred face and angry red eyes that spoke volumes of how much pain he was in. But the part of the dream that terrified him the most was the last part.

A man who looked far too much like his Papa hurt him really, really badly. He woke up in a cold sweat and he had to fight the urge to _run_ and not look back when he went down to breakfast that morning when he saw his Papa, no _Iemitsu_ his young mind supplied, at the table.

It scared him so much that for the entire visit, Tsuna stuck as close to his mother as he possibly could and avoided Iemitsu and "grandpa".

Nana huffed when on the last day of the visit, Tsuna refused to stay in the house alone with either of the two men.

"I simply don't know what's gotten into him."

Iemitsu laughed, though he had to admit his little Tuna-fish was acting extra shy for some reason. Perhaps it was the fact that Nono was with him that scared his son into avoiding them.

Children sometimes had an adverse reaction to strangers in their home, and his little boy was acting extra shy since they arrived. The fact Tsuna was clinging to his mother only cemented the idea in his head that his son was just a little shy around Nono.

"It's fine honey, why don't you take Tsuna shopping with you? I'm sure us menfolk can hold down the fort until you get back."

Nana sighed indulgently, before calmly carrying Tsuna most of the way to the store.

She was completely unaware of the fact that taking her son with her caused a major divergence point in his fate. Tsuna was just relieved to be far, far away from Iemitsu and the grandpa who gave him a really bad feeling.

Though he only really calmed down when the men left, with 'Grandpa' giving him one more affectionate pat on the head while Nana held him.

He worries about the scary nightmare he had the last time the old man touched him.

This time he has the dreams again, except they aren't as scary and are rather comforting.

He dreams of others roughly his own age, like the older boy who resembled the scary kid two years above him in school that liked to hit people and said he would 'bite them to death' that had a pet bird. Or the smiling boy who was in his class that loved baseball, but had made all the wrong friends until the right ones stopped him from doing something that would make his papa sad. Or the one who trained and trained because he didn't know what else to do with himself or the energy he had, and no one wanted to play with him or even listen to what he had to say, not really.

The others came later, but it's those three he remembers when the visit is over.

He is _not_ happy with Iemitsu when he begins to realize that perhaps the nightmare was more of a warning that his 'papa' wouldn't be around much.

* * *

Iemitsu, mostly out of concern for the fact that his son had been displaying _several_ signs of going Flame Active at an early age, decides to take his civilian family on a week-long vacation to Mafia Land.

Once again, Tsuna displays an unusual amount of shyness and sticks to his wife like glue and avoiding his father entirely if he could get away with it. If he can't, then he makes sure to keep as much distance as he possibly could without leaving the sight of his mother.

Except this backfires on the little boy and he ends up separated from his parents in an unknown place with people who spoke a language he only knew snippets of. Certainly not enough to get directions, and his instincts told him not to trust just anyone for help.

It was strange, how the odd dreams he kept having seemed to be giving him knowledge of things that by all rights he shouldn't know. Like what Iemitsu (and a lot of the people around him) were saying in that funny language that wasn't Japanese. It wasn't perfect, and the information he was getting was very scrambled, but at least it wasn't the nightmares again.

It was as he was about to give up and start crying that he spotted a figure that was so familiar and oddly comforting, despite the amount of menace and scary aura he was giving off. A man with unusually curly sideburns.

 _Reborn POV_

There was a lost brat staring at him with undisguised fascination. Or likely his side burns.

Despite the irritable aura he was giving off, the brat wasn't scared of him in the least. Then again young kids often didn't know a threat when they saw one.

"Go away, _bambino_ ," said Reborn imperiously. He did not have time to deal with lost kids.

The kid looked openly confused, but at least the brat wasn't crying. He hated that.

Reborn shooed the kid away, but they didn't leave.

Did the kid not speak Italian?

Switching to a different language, Reborn didn't get a proper response until he hit Japanese. That at least got the kid to perk up.

Who the hell had brought a Japanese kid this young and didn't keep track of them? Especially since the brat clearly didn't understand Italian or even something as common as English, which were the two major languages spoken in Mafia Land.

" _Little one, where are your parents?"_

" _Mama is off with the scary man who brought us here,"_ said the boy.

Reborn wanted to sigh. For some reason the kid had apparently deemed him as 'safe adult', which meant he wasn't likely to leave the hit man alone at _all_ until his mother was found.

How annoying.

Scooping up the brat, who merely squeaked a little before easily settling into his hold like it was natural, Reborn went to find the nearest help desk. It wasn't like this was the first time a kid had gotten lost on the island.

"Babysitting, Reborn?" said an amused voice.

Reborn glowered at the man who spoke.

However it was the child's reaction that had both men look at him oddly.

" _Hibari-san!"_ he said in surprise.

Fon blinked.

" _You know Kyouya, little one?"_ he asked carefully in Japanese. It wasn't the first time someone had remarked at the fact he looked so similar to Kyouya, and it wouldn't be the last.

The boy shook his head.

" _Hibari-san in different class. He likes to hit people a lot, especially adults and bullies."_

Fon chuckled, because that sounded like something Kyouya would do.

" _What's your name, little one?"_

" _Tsuna!"_ chirped the child in Reborn's arms.

It surprised Reborn a little, how calm the brat...Tsuna... was in his hold. Most kids would be frightened of the amount of irritation he was giving off, or by his 'scary' appearance.

This kid however, seemed perfectly happy with the hit man holding him. He was positively cheerful even.

Fon was both amused and intrigued, and without a word joined Reborn in finding the lost and found desk.

However it was the child's reaction to the man already there asking about a boy fitting his description that had them more than a little wary.

Tsuna only had to _hear_ Iemitsu's voice before he immediately stiffened and whimpered in Reborn's hold. The child almost had a death grip on Reborn's shirt, though he was careful not to make any wrinkles.

The poor thing was shaking.

" _What's wrong,_ bambino?"asked Reborn. The kid had been fine until now, so what about Iemitsu caused this sort of reaction.

" _Scary man here,"_ he said, practically burying himself into Reborn's neck, as if to hide himself.

"Tsuna!" yelped Iemitsu, finally spotting them.

Reborn was rather baffled as to why the kid only held onto him _tighter_ , rather than go anywhere near an increasingly unhappy Iemitsu.

" _Tsu-kun! There you are!"_

Finally the kid let go, but he wouldn't go anywhere _near_ the general vicinity of the Vongola External Adviser, something that made the man very unhappy indeed.

There was no mistaking the fact that Tsuna was absolutely _terrified_ of Iemitsu for some reason.

"Where did you find him?" demanded Iemitsu. Reborn almost bristled at the tone and the implied words alone.

"I didn't. The kid somehow found me and wouldn't leave," said Reborn annoyed. "What did you do to that poor kid to make him so scared shitless of you?"

Iemitsu glared at that.

"He's my son. He's just being a little shy," he said flatly.

"That's not shyness. He's is actively terrified of you," said Fon bluntly. "Shyness would imply he would be leery of strangers, and yet he took to Reborn and myself almost immediately, never mind the fact he wouldn't let go until his mother arrived."

Iemitsu had no ready response to that. He was just as confused as to why his own son was openly _terrified_ of being alone with him.

Reborn kept an eye out for the kid, and to his surprise Tsuna managed to find him a second time. Only this time his mother was keeping a much firmer eye on him.

He bent down to eye level with the kid, who happily hugged him around the neck. His mother watched on with wary fondness, as it was clear her son was _very_ comfortable around the strange man whom he had only just met.

" _I am so sorry about that. He's normally a bit more shy than this,"_ she said apologetically. She flushed a little when Reborn smiled at her, while easily settling the kid in his arms.

" _He's a cute kid, and it's harmless. I'm more surprised he's so calm around me...most kids know enough to avoid me,"_ he said calmly, carefully dislodging the boy who pouted and handing him back to his mother.

Still the kid would remain on the back of Reborn's mind for several weeks yet...mostly because of the fact the kid hadn't displayed an ounce of fear towards him even though he was quite irritated.

* * *

Tsuna was seven when the pretty fire came. Unfortunately Iemitsu had been home at the time and saw it happen.

The man paled and immediately bundled them off to Italy on a "surprise vacation".

Tsuna knew that it was no vacation. Iemitsu planned to take the pretty fire away.

The second he was in the mansion and told to stay put in the room, he decided to explore.

He had gotten really good at hide and seek, and by the time Iemitsu brought Timoteo into the room to seal his son's Flames, the boy was long gone.

A panic almost immediately settled into the main house, as the staff promptly scrambled to look for a seven year old boy who could only speak Japanese, as far as Iemitsu knew.

Tsuna had gotten much better at understanding basic Italian, as he learned the funny language was called. It made him giggle as he avoided the maids and other staff looking for him, just by listening to what they were saying.

Suddenly the weird feeling in the back of his head tingled... there was someone here that he had to find. Someone he could trust completely.

Tsuna snuck through the mansion, using his smaller size to an advantage until he found the room where the feeling was the strongest.

He carefully opened the door and slipped in, before closing it.

Hearing a weird sound, he turned to find... the strangely comforting dark man who had brought him back to his mama when they visited that funny amusement park.

The man had to blink for a moment before recognition hit him.

" _Tsuna? What are you doing here?"_ he asked baffled.

Tsuna almost brightened.

" _Scary man wants to take the pretty colors away. But he has to catch me first!"_ said Tsuna pleased with himself.

Reborn looked at him oddly before patting the couch. Tsuna took the implied invitation and happily sat next to him without a second thought. He knew the dark man was a lot safer to be around than Iemitsu.

" _What pretty colors,_ bambino?"

Tsuna gave him an oddly serious look, before an expression of concentration came across his face.

Reborn's gobsmacked expression when he realized the kid had managed to manifest _Sky_ flames of an unusually high degree of purity was rather hilarious. It winked out quick enough, but the fact Tsuna could manifest them at will was a pretty good indicator he was a natural at using them.

Reborn patted him on the head, which got the kid to beam at him proudly.

" _Want to see my 'pretty colors',_ bambino?" he said with a slight smile. The kid was still pretty cute.

Tsuna nodded eagerly.

Reborn created a small amount of Sun flame, and only vaguely heard the staff outside closing in on their room, Iemitsu close by.

He couldn't react fast enough to stop Tsuna from touching his uncovered Flames...and the feeling of harmony hit Reborn like a brick.

It was rare for a Sky to harmonize so fast with an Element, especially someone as strong as Reborn, but it wasn't unheard of.

The door opened, revealing Iemitsu who took one look at the way Tsuna was openly _giggling_ while touching Reborn's Flames before he scowled.

Tsuna took one look at the man's face, before flinching openly and immediately trying to hide behind Reborn. The seven year old clutched Reborn's sleeve without any hesitation at all, and was clearly still scared of Iemitsu.

"Reborn... _what did you do?!"_ hissed Iemitsu, beyond furious.

Reborn... was still reeling from the fact that the Sky he had tried to find for years had almost literally fallen into his lap, and was a _seven year old._

"Well fuck," said Reborn.


	76. Divergence Chapter Two

Timoteo had a headache, one that was _not_ helped by the fact Iemitsu was giving a very confused Reborn dirty looks and all but hissing like a very irate cat. Nor was it helped by the fact little Tsunayoshi was absolutely terrified of his own father, but had absolutely no issue with using the Strongest Sun as his own shield.

"So just to be clear... young Tsunayoshi wandered into the holding room you were staying in until my schedule cleared enough for our meeting...and you _harmonized_ with him?" said Timoteo, sounding like he would love nothing better than a few stiff drinks.

"The kid was hiding from Iemitsu, and he mentioned something about 'pretty colors'," shrugged Reborn. "I figured it would be a good enough distraction to show him my Flames since he could bring out his own... I wasn't expecting him to stick his _hand_ directly into them."

Little Tsuna curled into Reborn's neck, looking rather sleepy. Reborn quietly adjusted his grip so the boy could nap comfortably on him without even realizing it. The amount of implied trust the seven year old was showing someone as dangerous as _Reborn_ was staggering, to say the least. Especially when he openly feared his own father for no reason they could readily explain.

"Nono, I would like to formally request you seal his flames," said Iemitsu, clearly angry over how out of hand things had gotten.

Reborn stiffened, and looked at Iemitsu murderously. It was _very_ clear he would not take the child's sealing laying down at all and would likely become rather violent if they tried.

Newly bonded Guardians were _extremely_ protective, not to mention clingy. Especially someone like Reborn, who had search for years for a Sky that he could call his own, only to fail time and time again until young Tsunayoshi dropped almost into his lap.

From the sound of things, the boy's Intuition had lead him straight to the World's Greatest Hit Man and had merely waited for the first opportunity to claim his Guardian.

There was no chance in hell Reborn was going to allow them to seal the boy, not if they had truly harmonized.

Timoteo suspected that truly was the case, because Reborn normally only tolerated small children in limited amounts, yet he looked surprisingly comfortable having the child in his arms.

"I'm afraid, Iemitsu, that sealing the child would be impossible. At least for now."

Iemitsu bristled at that, and Reborn couldn't help but feel a measure of disgust at the sight.

The leader of CEDEF looked and acted far too much like a spoiled brat not getting his way.

It gave the hit man an inkling as to why little Tsuna avoided his father like the plague.

Iemitsu tried to get closer to Tsuna, but the sleepy child whimpered and immediately curled closer to Reborn. The look Reborn shot the man could have peeled paint, it was that dark.

"I don't want my _son_ anywhere near the mafia, much less someone like _him_!" hissed Iemitsu, furious.

Timoteo leveled a Look at Iemitsu.

"You know as well as I do that newly bonded Guardians cannot be separated from their Skies. The damage done to young Tsunayoshi could be irreperable if we tried to seal him with an active Guardian bond, never mind the fact Reborn would almost certainly kill you without hesitation for it," said Timoteo flatly.

He was _not_ pissing off Reborn. Especially not over something as sacred as a Guardian bond.

"Why are you so dead set about sealing the kid anyway?" asked Reborn crossly.

Iemitsu glared at him.

"I don't want my son in the mafia. He deserves to have a normal childhood."

"You're an idiot," said Reborn without hesitation. "His chance at 'civilian' went out the window the second he showed Sky Flames. Normal seals won't do anything for Sky Attraction and without his Flames your son would be a clumsy, uncoordinated mess...and that's without factoring in the fact it could easily seal away his intuition as well. You're just asking him to be bullied."

Iemitsu seethed.

"Besides, who said the kid had to be in the direct line of succession now that he's active? He can still be a spare heir without ruining his childhood," said Reborn.

Timoteo latched onto Reborn's idea, mostly to avoid an even bigger headache.

"What do you mean?"

"The Vongola have areas under their control with schools and the like, don't they?" said Reborn flippantly. "Leave the kid there and give him basic training so he establishes a proper attachment to the famiglia, but keep him out of politics until he's old enough to decide for himself. It also means you can arrange protection until he gathers other Guardians without having anyone try to use him against you."

Timoteo could only feel relief. Iemitsu just looked angry.

"Nono, you aren't seriously considering this?" demanded Iemitsu.

"Namimori is under our protection, and arranging tutors would be simple enough. Keeping the child distant from the line of direct succession while in a controlled territory is better than pissing off the World's Greatest Hit Man," said Timoteo tiredly. "Especially since we can easily pay him to act as bodyguard and tutor to cover up why he's actually staying there for long periods of time."

Reborn would never fully settle into a 'civilian' lifestyle, so allowing him to leave every once in a while to take on a difficult hit was a good compromise. So long as young Tsunayoshi remained hidden, no one needed to know he had bonded with Reborn as his Sun.

Iemitsu was not happy, but the entire thing had been taken out of his hands the second Tsuna claimed Reborn as his Guardian.

* * *

Nana not only recognized the man from the island who found her son immediately, but took the news that Reborn would be acting as Tsuna's live-in tutor well enough. The fact he could act as discreet bodyguard for the family until proper protection could be arranged was just a bonus.

The second Fon heard _Reborn_ was settling down in Namimori for the time being, for an unspecified prolonged period of time, he personally came to visit.

It took him a few moments to get over the cheerful seven year old hugging his leg without hesitation.

"I never took you to settle down," he commented in Italian.

Reborn looked a mixture of annoyed and embarassed. It was an odd combination to see on his face.

"The brat managed to harmonize with me a few days after he went active."

Fon's smile openly slipped into a shocked expression.

"The boy _harmonized_ with you?" he said in disbelief. Not even Luce was able to pull off a full bond, though she already had a Sun.

"Stuck his hand right into my Flames when I showed them to him, and didn't even bat an eye at it," said Reborn.

Seeing Fon's disbelief, Reborn easily scooped up the kid and brought out his flames.

Tsuna grinned and didn't even think twice about sticking his hand in them.

"I suppose it's only natural he would harmonize with you after the way the child immediately took to you on Mafia Land," said Fon, once he got over his shock. "I'm more surprised the Vongola haven't announced the presence of a fifth heir."

"Iemitsu would have thrown a complete bitch fit if they had," said Reborn. He was glad they were speaking in Italian, because Nana would have his head if Tsuna picked up swear words this early. "He was pushing pretty hard for the kid to have his flames sealed... pretty sure that's why he dragged his family to Italy in the first place actually."

Tsuna only had to hear the name before he flinched. Odds were his intuition was the reason he avoided Iemitsu.

Fon looked appalled at the idea. Flames strong enough to hold Reborn as a Guardian would be nearly impossible to seal without ruining the child's life for a very long time, never mind the long term damage it would do. It would be a miracle if the boy would be able to harmonize with anyone if it was removed, if at all.

Children with Flames should be _cherished_ , not sealed away so easily unless there was something very, very wrong with their psyche.

"How did you manage to avert that?"

"Pointed out that no one had to know the kid was a Vongola heir and that it would be easier for everyone if they simply hid him away someplace under Vongola control and train him up until he was old enough to decide whether he wants to be part of the famiglia or not. So long as they let me go on hits occasionally, I'm 'officially' the kid's bodyguard and home tutor until he's eighteen."

Left unsaid was the fact Reborn would have brutally murdered anyone who tried to seal _his_ Sky. He was possessive if nothing else, and recently bonded Guardians were often very twitchy until the bond settled.

Fon had a calculating look in his eyes.

"You know if you're trying to get the kid some decent Guardians I might have a suggestion that could benefit us both."

"You?" said Reborn dryly, only mildly surprised when Fon shook his head. Having enough strength to pull in Reborn was one thing, he wasn't going to tempt fate by trying to see if Tsuna could handle his own Flames as well.

"I have a son in Namimori. Tsuna mistook me for him before, remember?"

"You have a kid?" said Reborn in surprise. This was news to him.

"It was part of an arrangement with the Hibari clan that almost fell through because my cousin was killed off for something stupid," said Fon. "I agreed to help produce the agreed upon heir with limited visitation rights to keep him safe."

Left unsaid was the fact that everyone seemed to think Kyouya was his nephew or something.

"So you want to give Tsuna a chance to bond with your son as his Storm?"

Fon chuckled.

"Not quite. Kyouya has shown several signs of being more of a Classic Cloud with a possible Mist secondary, rather than inherit my Storm flames," said Fon. Now he had Reborn's full interest.

Clouds were notoriously tricky to harmonize with, never mind being the second hardest flame type to find. Getting them acquainted early would make it easier for the two to bond later when Kyouya went active.

When Tsuna heard Reborn was going to introduce him to the scary kid Hibari, who he remembered from his dreams, he asked if he could bring a present.

Fon and Reborn had shared a look and chuckled at the sheer innocence the kid had.

"Have something in mind, _bambino_?" asked Reborn.

Tsuna nodded. He remembered how much the slightly scary boy in his dreams loved that little canary he named Hibird. Perhaps Hibari would like a friend that wouldn't be scared of his biting habit?

Reborn humored the kid and allowed Tsuna to direct where they would go. He was mildly surprised when the boy went straight to a pet shop.

Considering his own familiar, Leon, perhaps the kid was trying to emulate him a bit?

That thought went out the window when Tsuna confidently bought a cheerfully little canary that was decidedly ball shaped. It look like a ball of feathers, to be honest.

Fon looked at the box curiously, but outside of the fact that the contents was a living creature didn't try to find out what Tsuna planned to give his son.

* * *

Kyouya was decidedly antisocial, and hated playdates. The fact his _father_ was bringing someone who was so clearly an herbivore grated on him, because he would be force to be 'nice' and not bite the intruding small animal to death for getting on his nerves.

He looked at the box in Tsuna's hands with disgust. Was that some sort of bribe? He didn't need such pathetic presents.

Tsuna merely smiled at him and chirped "I brought you a friend to keep you company, Hibari-san!"

Kyouya, under the watchful gaze of Fon, opened the box reluctantly.

And stared at the tiny ball of feathers inside.

The tiny canary woke up when the lid was removed, took one look at Kyouya, and cheerfully flew around his head before landing on top of his hair. It looked perfectly comfortable treating Kyouya's head as a birdnest.

Fon looked like he desperately wanted to laugh, but managed to hold his composure. Barely.

Kyouya wanted to glower at him, or at least the small animal...but he didn't really mind the bird. It was small, and rather cute.

"I thought a bird might suit you, Hibari-san!" said Tsuna smiling brightly.

To the surprise of everyone, the canary started chirping in a decidedly human manner "Hibari! Hibari!"

"...Wao. What's the bird's name?" asked Kyouya, a slight smile on his face.

Something that privately _shocked_ Fon, because every time he tried to give Kyouya a gift when he visited the boy would always turn it down or give him a Look.

And yet the little Sky had managed to pick the perfect present for his prickly nephew and give him a new friend that he could talk to.

Tsuna looked rather sheepish at that.

"Hibird."

"Hibird! Hibari!" chirped the newly designated Hibird, flying around Kyouya's head. Fon had to hide his grin when he saw the way Kyouya's eyes softened as the bird landed on his shoulder this time.

On the plus side, Tsuna had made a very big step into making Kyouya his Cloud. Clearly the boy understood Kyouya better than most did, because outside of a little flinch, he didn't back down when Kyouya pretended that he was about to "bite the annoying small animal".

Fon was inordinately pleased by this, as it meant he wouldn't have to worry so much about his son. So was Reborn, since it meant his Sky would have a suitably strong Cloud of good lineage if he was able to keep it up.


	77. Connecting Hearts Chapter One

It started, as most things like this do, with a date. Of course he didn't phrase it as such, and the girl was sadly very oblivious to such gestures without her 'dates' being rather rude or coming on far too strong for her tastes, but in his mind it was a date.

Nothing fancy. Just a simple dinner and a light stroll in the park where a local band was attempting to make themselves known with a public appearance.

While the band was acceptable enough, and not overly offensive to the ears, it was highly doubtful they would make it big on their own merit. However she rather enjoyed it, which was good enough.

What started a quiet gesture to help the poor overworked girl to relax, without the stress of her Guardians around her or her adviser being his naturally chaotic self slowly developed into something more.

To be fair, it took her five dates before she cottoned on to the fact he was quietly courting her without anyone noticing it. When she did, she blushed so prettily it made him smile behind the sleeves of his robe.

It amazed him that no one else had tried to court her properly before...then again her Storm was rather rabid about who was allowed near her for prolonged periods, which was quite the deterrent for men within her age range.

"Is... are we on a date?" asked Nozomi, in a lost and confused tone. It was clear she had no idea how one was supposed to act on such things.

"I was wondering when you would pick up on that fact. It's ridiculous to keep a lovely young woman such as yourself trapped behind that dusty desk all day long doing paperwork because your Elements have no self-restraint or discretion. And Kyouya certainly isn't going to take the initiative, which is a pity," said Fon pleasantly.

Nozomi blushed at that, while her heart twinged a little at the reminder that the boy she had a crush on for years had little interest in her as a woman.

Fon gently took her right hand and kissed it firmly, which made her blush deepen. No one had ever bothered to treat her like an actual woman before, much less be as patient as Fon was.

Reborn certainly never bothered, and they had fallen into a pattern of a father who only doted on his daughter in private when no one else would see them. He was the solid rock she relied upon when the ocean around her was turned into a death trap by the storms that sought to crush her.

Besides, he tended to join Hayato's side when it came to chasing the 'unworthy' away.

Probably why Fon had to sneak her out of the mansion when Reborn _and_ Hayato were on missions, and therefor unable to stop him.

"It's alright little princess. This will only go as far as _you_ want it to go... I just couldn't stand watching you be crushed by all that paperwork because those children refuse to learn some restraint," said Fon.

Nozomi felt relief, and more than a little guilt because of that declaration. She loved her Guardians as brothers (or sister, in Chrome's case), but they could be a bit much for her to handle... which was often.

The goodnight kiss Fon gave her at the end of their date was gentle and somewhat chaste.

 _One month later..._

Fon had to hide a smile at the skittish kitten in his arms. It took her only a moment or two to accept his arm lightly wrapped around her waist, or the light peck on the cheek when she wasn't expecting it.

Nozomi had never been courted properly as a lady before, but she felt comfortable enough to allow him small privileges like invading her personal space and holding her close.

He was pleasantly surprised at the fact _she_ was the one to plant the chaste kiss on his cheek at the end of their date, rather than him. It meant the little Sky was taking initiative.

* * *

Reborn looked at the girl he had practically raised from a broken child into the strong leader she was today.

"What's this I hear about you sneaking out at night with a male?" he asked, one eyebrow pointedly raised.

Nozomi didn't shrink into herself...barely. Reborn would not be pleased if she had.

"It's not anyone's business, besides at least he's not all grabby like the creeps I keep getting stuck with for an uncomfortable date," said Nozomi.

"Is he a civilian?" asked Reborn pointedly.

"Hardly," she said with confidence. "He's well respected enough that even you would have heard of him and he has a relative that works fairly high up in the Vongola that he's rather fond of, so he's not a threat to us."

All completely true without going into details that would tip Reborn off who her mystery suitor was.

"I'm amazed Hayato hasn't ferreted out who he belongs with and a full background check if it's gotten to the point that the maids were the ones that tipped me off you have a boyfriend."

Nozomi avoided his eyes.

"He makes sure to only show up when Hayato and you are far from the mansion, because he doesn't want to deal with either of you."

"I thought you said he wasn't a threat?" said Reborn, smirking like a shark.

"No, he's just aware of how...protective... you two are when it comes to me and wants to keep you from annoying him," said Nozomi. "Did you really think I was _that_ oblivious to the fact Hayato has a rather annoying habit of chasing off anyone interested in me, or if they get past him that they generally get scared off by _you_?"

Reborn smirked at that, though it did bring up the question who was brazen enough to date _his_ student and manage to hide it from him for this long. Whoever Nozomi was dating had to be very good indeed.

Perhaps a more hands off approach to ferret out who his student's suitor was would work. If he was smart enough to avoid Reborn and Hayato, then a new face might be able to spot them and point them in the right direction.

Fortunately Fon was available and was more than quick enough to catch whoever the soon-to-be interrogated fool was.

(Reborn would end up kicking himself for not figuring it out sooner.)

* * *

It was all Fon could do not to smirk when Reborn asked him to help 'find' Nozomi's mystery boyfriend so they could inter...question... him about his intentions with the girl.

Nozomi certainly had issues keeping a straight face throughout the evening.

"How long do you think we could keep this up?" asked Nozomi, quietly.

Fon smiled, though you could see the mischievous glint in his eyes at the thought of trolling Reborn for a change.

"You mean how long do you think we could have Reborn paying for our dates without knowing it?" he asked lightly, though you could hear the amusement in his voice.

She nodded.

"I would say about a month, or until you decide to make everything a bit more official...at least among your trusted allies. Or we could let them figure it out."

Nozomi rarely had a chance to do something this fun, and to be honest her original feelings for Kyouya had easily switched over to Fon, who she found much easier to be around. While there was still that edge of an untamed storm lurking in him, Fon's passion was tempered by experience and patience.

Kyouya was a good guardian, but she had come to realize that as a boyfriend he required a certain touch that she didn't have.

Since they were supposed to be drawing out Nozomi's mystery boyfriend, Fon decided to be a little more overt about their date and took her out dancing.

It was a lot of fun, and she almost didn't want the night to end, except her feet were killing her.

Fon's eyes glinted as he picked her up, princess style, and took her back to the car.

"We should go dancing more often, if you enjoyed it that much," he said with amusement. Nozomi perked up a bit hearing that, but was rather tired. All that movement had worn her out, and the alcohol wasn't helping at all.

Reborn looked at Nozomi's tired state and gave Fon a Look.

"I took her to a nearby dance hall... perhaps it would be wise to get her into dancing lessons as a hobby and away from that desk for a bit. At the very least it would be a good distraction from her job and give her a useful skill at the balls the Vongola holds," commented Fon.

Reborn made a note of the suggestion. He _had_ noticed Nozomi slacking off just a bit in her training because she was too busy cleaning up after her Guardians. And for the life of him he couldn't think of a single hobby she actually enjoyed that she hadn't had to drop since becoming Decimo. Or had quit long before he came because of the fact she was harassed by her peers or got tired of trying to improve herself.

"Any luck finding out who she's been dating?"

"If he was there, he was laying low. I saw no one watching her or me with any particular interest all night. He might not be in the area at the moment," said Fon with a mostly honest answer.

"How long are you in the area?"

"I can clear my schedule for a month, possibly a bit longer," said Fon. "It's something of a slow period."

"Three days from now, we're going to try again... Hayato has a mission," said Reborn.

Fon inclined his head, and rather enjoyed the fact that he was getting one over Reborn for a change.

Actually, he wondered if Viper and the others would like to get in on this prank. He might be able to get enough to buy a nice present for Nozomi if he played his cards right.

 _In the Varia..._

"You're _what_?" said Viper incredulous. Their jaw was openly dropped at what Fon just said.

"I'm trolling Reborn and want to know if you want to be the one holding all the bets on how long it takes him to figure out what's really going on. It's an open thing so long as he doesn't catch wind before he figures it out himself," repeated Fon.

"What are you doing that you can troll him without him picking up on the fact and coming after you?"

"You know the rumors of Nozomi's mystery suitor?" he asked.

"It's one of the main gossip points in the Varia for the past three weeks," said Viper. "Everyone is trying to figure out who has the balls to sneak around Reborn and actually not get caught."

Fon smirked. Viper put two and two together.

"...You?" they tentatively asked.

"I wasn't about to let Nozomi's life waste away behind that desk. We've mostly been going on small dates to see how things go until this happened. It's not like any normal mafioso would stand a chance in hell against Reborn, even if they do manage to get past her Storm."

"True. At least it wasn't Byakuran," said Viper, once they got over their shock. Their eyes glinted behind their hood. "How long do you think you can keep it up?"

"A month at least, or until Nozomi decides to go from a few discreet dates to something more official," said Fon. "I might be the one getting her away from that mansion for a few hours, but I've been letting _her_ dictate the pace. We haven't really gotten past a few light kisses."

Viper made several quick calculations, before a gleam appeared in their eyes. They could make a lot of money off of this _and_ trollthat ass Reborn.

"Two questions... how far are you planning to go and do you mind if I bring someone in on this prank?"

"Depending on whether or not Nozomi wants to move past first base, it could easily go all the way if she wants. And if you want to bring someone in, that's fine but they have to be discreet."

"I was mostly planning to sick Lussuria on Nozomi for a few days so she can have a minor upgrade to her wardrobe. I doubt she has any experience in properly dressing up for a date," said Viper.

Fon perked up at that. It would be nice to see Nozomi actually act like a proper girl for a change.

* * *

Nozomi squeaked when Lussuria basically kidnapped her several hours before the scheduled date with Fon.

"We are going to make you look fabulous darling~! And perhaps that mysterious boyfriend of yours will show up and try to duel Fon when he sees how gorgeous you're going to look."

From the glint in Lussuria's sunglasses, Nozomi barely held in her snort.

"Who else knows?"

"Just me, Boss and Viper. Fon gave our little Mist a chance to make an open ended bet how long it would take for your mystery boyfriend to make himself known with Mammon acting as the bookie. Meanwhile I get to make you my own personal dress up doll until Reborn figures it out," admitted Lussuria without a hint of shame.

"...There are several things about that statement that I feel I _should_ be offended by, but I have a great deal of trouble honestly giving a damn about. That being said I want in on the action, if only to help drive up the stakes for my part of the cut," said Nozomi after a moment.

Lussuria blinked.

"Decoys. I plan to use decoys to make it last a bit longer in case Reborn catches on too soon. The longer it takes the more money Mammon can make, right?"

Lussuria was already texting Mammon on what they wanted to do. It was of very little surprise that the Mist immediately latched onto Nozomi's agreement to throw off the betting rings by using decoy boyfriends in order to throw Reborn off the scent.

 _Later that night..._

"You're not mad at me for bringing in Lussuria and Viper are you?" asked Fon.

"Not really, but this way we get to really troll Reborn and the others until they figure out it's you. Besides, I've never had the chance to be 'flirty' before," admitted Nozomi. She smiled at him, before adding "Never mind the fact that he's almost certain to figure it out if we ever went past kissing and light touches."

Fon's brain openly stalled at that, because he could tell what she was implying with that statement immediately. Nozomi had to resist the urge to giggle at the look on his face.

She made sure no one was watching when she held Fon's hand.

"You're one of the few I would trust in that way, so I have no problems with the idea. Just not yet...especially not when we could have a lot of fun getting back at certain people for getting on our nerves with their behavior and chaotic natures," she said smiling.

Fon's smile shifted to something far softer...and very anticipatory.

He lightly kissed the back of her hand, causing her to blush just a little, as she had started to get used to such gestures from him.

"When you're ready, I promise to make it well worth the wait," he said.


	78. Shield of Hope Chapter One

Amber orange eyes stared at the scene before her in stunned horror. Why? Why did this sort of thing _always_ happen to her? She didn't do anything wrong!

Tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes...she just wanted to go home...she never asked to be summoned as a 'hero'.

At least that rude red haired girl wouldn't be able to steal the money that the king had given her...there wasn't any left to steal.

It took her several moments for it to sink in that not _everyone_ was looking at her with open disgust and hatred.

Amaki Ren, the Sword Hero and Kawasumi Itsuki, the Bow Hero, were both frowning at the sheer level of animosity aimed at her.

"Question... are we really supposed to believe a kid who likely hasn't even hit puberty and was actively avoiding his companion with some rather impressive skills would be capable of commiting rape?" asked Ren. "I mean he barely looks old enough to know what to do with a girl if he had one."

"I saw him duck into an alley twice whenever she was within eyesight of him," added Itsuki. "And I have to agree, claiming that a barely fourteen year old kid was able to overpower a grown womam when he looks like a stiff wind could blow him over is a bit of a stretch."

For once her small and 'harmless' appearance was actually helping her to win allies. At the very least it forced the two older heroes to think seriously as to whether the charge was true or not, and their allies. The 'average heroes' were all giving each other looks, before giving her a good long one and silently agreeing that the story didn't sound so plausible.

Considering that out of the four heroes, she had been the most freaked out by the fact they were being forced to fight against monsters, it was a fairly safe bet she wouldn't be able to hold her own against a much larger adult.

The king scowled, less than happy that the 'story' they concocted to give the Shield hero a bad name was beginning to fall apart.

Either way he was more than happy to kick Nozomi to the curb, with only the clothes she had appeared in on her back. He was still trying to figure out where she hid the money that he had given all the other heroes, since her purse had been all but empty by the time they arrested her on the false charge.

Nozomi tried not to cry. Today just wasn't her day...but that was fairly typical.

"Are you okay?" asked Ren, when he found her an hour later. Itsuki was with him.

"I'm fine. It's not the first time people have gone after me for no good reason, but I can't believe they would accuse me of something as horrible as rape," she said.

"No offense Usagi-chan, but I really doubt you could have pulled it off," said Itsuki. Ren nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe they thought the story would stick in the first place," said Nozomi miserably. "If I really _had_ attacked that horrible woman, she would have known to change her story to fit the facts better."

"What do you mean?" asked Ren.

Nozomi tried to change the subject.

"Why do you two keep calling me Usagi-chan?"

"Because you remind us of a small, fluffy rabbit," said Itsuki without hesitation. Ren nodded emphatically.

"...At least you got the suffix right," said Nozomi. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted from her horrible day.

Ren and Itsuki stared at her a bit, before it hit them what she meant.

"So it's Sawada- _chan_ , not Sawada- _kun?_ " asked Ren carefully.

"I don't mind being called Usagi-chan. It's better than Hopeless Nozomi at any rate," she replied.

Nozomi squeaked a little at the affectionate way the two older boys ruffled her hair.

It was immediately apparent they didn't believe a word of the king's claim that she had attacked his daughter, not after learning that the Shield hero was in fact a _girl_.

"By the way, what did happen to all the money the king gave you? He looked positively livid when he found out there was so little of it left."

"I used it up. I saw this slave tent shortly after leaving the castle while avoiding Mein, and went in... there was this demi-human who looked way too much like an upperclassman in my school and a little tanuki girl with a bad cough. I spent most of it buying their freedom and getting medicine for the girl. The rest of it I spent on dinner and a room, before they dragged me out and started making up lies about me," she admitted.

She wasn't a fighter. She was more inclined to heal people than to hurt them. However the tengu with the angry steel gray eyes reminded her so much of Hibari-sempai that she had to free him.

He had a rather odd look in his eyes when she declined the standard slave spell and removed the constricting collar around his neck once they were outside city limits.

She couldn't even begin to imagine trying to control someone who reminded her far too much of a tengu-version of Hibari! He was scary enough!

Ren spotted something or rather some _one_ peeking at them from around the corner.

"This tanuki girl... she wouldn't happen to have brown hair and brown eyes would she? And tawny colored ears?" he asked carefully.

Nozomi nodded. Then she blinked and turned around.

The little tanuki child was staring at her intently, but was too shy to make herself known.

"Well, even if you can't really fight with your weapon, maybe you can train her to help you. I mean beast people are usually pretty strong once they've leveled up a bit, you know?" said Itsuki.

"It'll be just like having a little sister with you," added Ren.

The two had to leave, mostly to rejoin their own parties...and discreetly inform the others about Nozomi's actual gender.

Nozomi looked at the little tanuki child. The girl looked back.

"Is your cough any better...um..."

"Raphtalia," said the girl quietly.

"Talia-chan," said Nozomi. "You can call me Nozomi-nee, or Usagi-chan, since the other heroes all seem to think I'm a rabbit."

Raphtalia tilted her head.

"Usagi-nee?" she said carefully.

Nozomi hugged her, and once Raphtalia got over the shock of it she relaxed.

Nozomi looked at her purse, and had to hold back a sigh. There was barely anything left, and she didn't really like the idea of making someone as little as Raphtalia fight for her. However there wasn't much choice...she was more likely to get eaten alive than survive any of the stronger monsters.

She barely had enough left to pay for a cheap dagger, which compared to Raphtalia's size was more of a short sword, plus a change of clothes for them both.

The blacksmith was considerably friendlier once he found out that Nozomi was a girl. Mostly because the story the king had been spreading so quickly clearly stated that the "shield hero" was a male.

Enough so that he gave her a bit of a discount on the clothes, since she could barely afford the dagger for her friend.

Considering how monster fighting could be hell on what you were wearing, it was better that she had a spare set.

* * *

Nozomi openly squeaked in shock when the tengu she had freed was waiting for her in the field, several dead 'balloons' at his feet and a look of open annoyance on his face.

The only reason she called him a tengu was because of the large black beak where the mouth and nose would be. Other than that he was a dead ringer for Hibari-sempai, right down to the aura of violence the teen had.

He gave her a look that said he had quite likely heard the story. However the fact she was currently wearing a skirt...which had made most of the glares drop to nothing, as most of the people just assumed her shield was something she picked up to protect herself from monsters...made it clear he was willing to at least hear the truth.

Deciding to treat the tengu as she would Hibari, she hesitantly asked...

"Would you like to join us? I can't guarantee we'll always be fighting strong monsters, but anyone who joins one of the 'legendary heroes' party automatically gets summoned to fight in the rifts, which have more difficult boss monsters. I won't ask you to fight the weaker ones like these balloons, but any help dealing with the more powerful ones would be appreciated."

The tengu looked derisively at the balloons he slaughtered, then at the tiny 'bunny' with her tanuki partner.

If teaming up with the small animal meant he got to fight the stronger boss monsters, then he didn't mind. However he wouldn't just take any order from the small animal. She had yet to earn any of his respect.

"Um...do you mind if I call you Hibari? It's just you remind me far too much of him and I'm afraid I'll slip up," she asked shyly.

The tengu huffed, and took a nap on the branch. Nozomi took that as a tentative 'yes'.

While Raphtalia and Nozomi did their best to level up and earn a few more coins before they traveled on, Hibari napped. However there was an odd look in his eyes as he watched Nozomi clumsily try to punch the balloons into bursting.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and much to the bewilderment of Nozomi, he took her right arm (which had the shield on it) and showed her how to punch correctly. It took her a few moments to catch on, but once she did she tried her best to copy it.

Suddenly what took twenty hits now only took thirteen. Ten, if she used stationary targets like trees or boulders to punch the monsters into.

It was such a vast difference that by the time night fell, she and Raphtalia had gone up several levels and they had acquired enough money to get proper supplies.

On an unrelated note, she found that the shield could upgrade itself when she added monster parts to it. She was going to fully abuse that to improve her ability to make medicines.

* * *

The blacksmith was moderately surprised to see them back, but just as happy to give them service.

Hibari made a beeline straight for the tonfas he had seen coming in, along with a coat that looked far too similar to the one the demon prefect wore for her comfort. She said nothing, just bought what they needed and paid for it.

At least the shield allowed her to get a pair of decent metal gauntlets that were spelled to fit the size of whoever wore them. She had bruised her knuckles more than once with a bad hit.

Next was the magic shop.

It was fortunate everyone thought the shield hero was a boy, because the woman had absolutely no idea who Nozomi was. It made getting the basic books that suited her far easier, even if it had been a nightmare locating a dictionary so she could try to translate the language. Probably the most shocking thing was the fact that the woman found a seal on her magic.

It had taken half their funds to remove it. However the difference was apparently the second the seal was removed...it sent half the books in the shop tumbling off the shelves!

"My word! What fool thought sealing up that much magic was a wise choice? And with such a poorly made seal to boot."

"I take it that was a bad thing?" asked Nozomi, once she got back on her feet.

"My dear, that seal kept _all_ your magic pent up inside you. It's a miracle you're even alive. There wasn't any way for it to vent, which meant you were a year or two away from it killing you, especially since your magic was definitely fighting it. I wouldn't be surprised if your clumsiness was due to the seal on your magic in the first place," said the woman with open sympathy.

Nozomi paled upon hearing that.

On the plus side, removing that seal had done a great deal of good. She found it easier to retain information now and had high hopes of being able to read the book she bought very soon.

The last thing they bought was a few bags that they filled with the essentials, like camping equipment, food, water bags, and a few minor things.

(Nozomi was beyond delighted that the shield could also absorb rope and most of the equipment, since it meant they had less to carry and more diversity when it came to what it could do. The thing she loved most was the fact there was apparently a culinary shield, something she planned to abuse every chance she had.)

Finally, they set off from the town. Nozomi was quite happy to get away. The less time she spent near that awful castle the happier she became.

In her mind, that castle was the equivalent of Namimori. It would take a miracle for her to disperse that internal comparison.

For the next few days, if they weren't actively hunting monsters (to upgrade the shield/gain experience/make money), Hibari was actively teaching Nozomi how to fight bare-handed.

The shield was useless as a general weapon. It's primary purpose was defense, which suited her just fine since she hated hurting others.

Monsters, on the other hand, were a hit and miss depending on their appearance and strength level. She simply could not stand bugs and was almost as leery of dogs as Raphtalia was.

* * *

 _Some time later..._

Hibari looked at the odd creature that had been following them for the past three days.

At some point, Nozomi had fallen into a nest of some sort and angered the creature. It had taken to stalking them ever since, and paid close attention to Nozomi in particular.

The thing had white fur, an odd tattered bandana around it's head, and some very sharp teeth. It's kick was positively vicious, and he had been highly amused to see the tiny thing kick down creatures five times it's own size.

Finally Nozomi noticed the creature, and her reaction was rather typical for a girl.

"Ah! A bunny!"

The animal was indeed bunny-shaped, and almost as vicious as Hibari in a mood.

The animal gave Nozomi a long look, before a clear "come at me" stance was taken.

Nozomi didn't want to hurt the rabbit, however she had the distinct feeling that treating him as harmless would be as offensive to it as it would have to Hibari himself.

So she reluctantly treated it as a serious opponent and gave her best to defeat it.

She wouldn't kill it, of course, but she didn't go easy on it either.

Probably a good thing, because she had her ass handed to her quite thoroughly by something well over half her size.

The bunny seemed to give her a measuring look, before looking at Hibari.

The tengu Looked back at him.

"She's still a beginner, and her full potential was blocked until recently."

Nozomi's head whipped towards him in shock, her face almost paling. That was the first time Hibari spoke, and he sounded _exactly_ like the demon prefect.

If he ever went after a strong opponent and said that he would "bite them to death", she would definitely hyperventilate...because it would mean that Hibari had been dragged in with her, and that he was part of her team!

The rabbit tilted his head and considered that. Then he hoppened up to Nozomi and tapped his paw rather pointedly.

"You... You want to join our group?"

The rabbit nodded.

Nozomi calmed down, just a little. She could worry about the implications of Hibari being in this world with her later. She had this headache to deal with first.

"Do you have a name I can pronounce?"

The rabbit gave her a look that said "What do you think?"

"Shirayuki. It's the best I can come up with on short notice, and that way I won't accidentally insult you with a name like Usagi-chan," said Nozomi faintly.

The rabbit tapped it's foot thoughtfully, before accepting the name. Shirayuki was a respectable name for a rabbit. It hopped onto her head and settled there.

 **Shirayuki has joined your party!**

Nozomi took one look at the description of her new partner/pet and wanted to cry from the insanity of it all.

Who knew "Ninja Bunny" was a real thing?

(To top off her surreal night, she woke up the next morning to see Hibari and Shirayuki sparring together. The rabbit lost, but there was far less bruising or damage done to it compared to most monsters or humans that faced Hibari and pissed him off. She did not want to ask.)


	79. Light Up My Life Chapter One

**Beware the sheer fluff ahead!**

"Where are you taking my daughter?" demanded a voice that the little girl hadn't heard in close to two years.

She turned wide, teary eyes to the man standing in the doorway looking very unhappy and rather confused.

"Are you Iemitsu Sawada?" demanded the social worker.

"I am. Why are you in my house and where are you taking her?"

"Why didn't you answer _any_ of the calls, letters or notices sent to the address you gave your wife?" demanded the woman annoyed. She had a large case load already and she wanted to get the girl situated so she could get back to real work.

"Where is Nana?" demanded Iemitsu.

At this, the little girl who had mostly gone unnoticed started crying. Silently, but there was no mistaking the heartbreak on her face.

"Mama... Mama went away forever," she said quietly, clearly upset.

Iemitsu went to his daughter.

"Your wife was killed in a tragic hit and run accident involving a driver who suffered a massive heart attack. She managed to hang on for a month before her body gave out. The funeral was two days ago," said the social worker, with only a little remorse for the child. "I'm afraid your daughter's only options are to either go to an orphanage, which was where I was about to drop her off, or go with you."

Iemitsu wasn't about to let his daughter suffer in an orphanage. She would be safe enough in the Vongola mansion, even if he had never wanted her to be exposed to that place.

It was painful, catching up to the fact his wife was dead and he was now the sole caretaker of his almost seven and a half year old daughter.

Though not nearly as painful as being reamed by a very pissed off Lal Mirch for the fact that if he had bothered to leave actual contact information then his wife might very well be alive...or he could have at least attended the funeral.

The Vongola had plenty of Sun flame users and experienced doctors on staff. Any of which could have been flown to Japan in less than twelve hours.

So really, Nana's death was entirely due to Iemitsu's stupidity and the fact he didn't have the brains to leave actual contact information. His daughter almost ended up in an orphanage because he didn't bother to check up on them, for god's sake!

The girl was bundled up with the few possessions she wanted to keep, and the house would be left vacant until she was old enough to claim it.

* * *

"Now what do we have here?" asked an old woman. She looked down at the tiny little thing clutching a somewhat worn rabbit doll looking beyond skittish.

The child was completely out of place in this drafty manor.

Seeing the little one clutch her bunny closer to them, the old woman smiled and pointed to herself.

"Daniela."

It took the little one a moment to catch on, before they hesitantly replied _"Sakura_."

Daniela promptly switched to Japanese.

" _Little one, why are you hiding in this boring room? Where are your parents?"_

The little girl clutched her bunny closer.

" _Papa went to talk to the old man with the funny ring, and Mama went away. Papa told me to stay put, but I had to use the bathroom and I got lost. This place is really scary,"_ said Sakura.

Daniela came to eye level with the girl, not an easy feat at her age.

" _There, there little one. Why don't you keep an old woman company until your Papa is done?"_ she said gently, using a tiny bit of Sky flame to coax the little girl to her.

Much to her amazement, she felt a flicker of _Active_ Sky right back from the child. Now she was definitely interested in the little one beyond insuring her father found her.

Did one of her grandsons have a little girl and neglect to inform her? If they did, they were going to be in for a very large earful for not introducing her to this little cutie.

It took a bit of coaxing and the promise of some food, but Daniela managed to get the little one into a far more comfortable room with a proper couch. Since the poor thing only spoke Japanese, she made sure that the maids brought finger foods that were easy to eat, along with a pair of chopsticks.

Sakura had been very hungry, but her appetite had taken a bit of a hit after her mother "went away" as she put it. Daniela didn't need to read between the lines to guess that her mother had died recently, leaving her in the custody of her father.

By the time someone did come looking for her, the little Sky (Daniela was sure of the girl's Flame type by this point) had curled up in her lap for a much overdue nap.

Lal Mirch took one look at the scene before relaxing.

"Mind explaining why this little one was wandering the mansion unsupervised?" said Daniela. It wasn't a request.

"Iemitsu is an idiot and didn't even realize he had left his daughter in that room for several hours until his own stomach made a complaint. Her mother died in a car accident and he just happened to come back right as the social workers were about to dump her in an orphanage," reported Lal in a succinct tone.

Daniela was not happy, but held her temper in check because of the sleeping child in her lap.

"And _why_ exactly did he not leave basic contact information?" demanded Daniela.

"He claims it was safer if his wife and daughter were removed from mafia politics. Honestly I think he just wanted to make sure his bloodline was continued, then put them aside to continue his 'bachelor' lifestyle here while the poor woman was left to raise the kid alone. I know for a fact that his last visit was two years before his wife passed."

Daniela grew a tick mark on her head. She was not happy.

"And the fact this little cutie happens to be a Sky?"

Lal shrugged. She barely had any contact with the kid because they weren't really her thing and had only agreed to look for her to avoid Iemitsu's ridiculous whining.

One would think that would be that...except a month later a frazzled Lal called Daniela's Rain and asked if the former Donna would be willing to babysit. Apparently they were quite busy and she couldn't really devote anyone competent to watch the girl.

The thing that annoyed both women the most was the fact that Iemitsu apparently had little intention of actually _interacting_ with his daughter, preferring to dump her on any available agent. The kid could only speak Japanese which limited the people who could babysit considerably, and was highly skittish. She could go hours at a time without speaking and had more than once wandered off because her minder didn't realize she had left the room, only to get lost.

Lal had been keeping track of the number of times she had managed to find the little girl clutching her stuffed rabbit like a lifeline in some random closet or corner scared out of her wits. She was not pleased.

Daniela gently picked up the tired little girl and let Sakura rest her head against her shoulder. The poor thing was exhausted and she could feel how skinny the girl was. The last thing the rather tiny girl needed was to lose weight. If anything she needed to gain a few pounds.

"You're telling me that foolish boy has been leaving her with people who have even less experience with children than he does?"

"I've only ever seen him interact with the kid once or twice, and it's clear the girl has little to no idea how to handle his idiocy. She's still coping with the fact her mother is dead, and being relocated to a foreign country _is not helping_ ," said Lal flatly, clearly pissed off.

Lal might not be good with kids, but even she could see that the poor girl had been thrown into the deep end and was drowning. She needed stability, encouragement and most of all someone who would actually be there for her. Three things that Iemitsu was crap at providing, since he was clearly moving past the fact his wife was dead a lot faster than his daughter.

Lal sighed.

"At this point I'm almost fully prepared to call Skull and hire him as a 'full time' babysitter. He's good with kids, actually speaks the language, and he won't scare her off as easily as some of the others."

Like Reborn, she mentally added.

Daniela simply held little Sakura in her arms.

"Why don't we leave that option open. For now I had better get this little one situated until things calm down around here," said Daniela.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Lal honestly. At least with Daniela she knew the girl would not only be safe, but spoiled rotten. And she might be able to get some support to cope with her mother's death.

Sakura woke up in Daniela's private manor, and predictably was scared out of her wits. At least until the woman came into the room and gently patted her hair.

" _It's okay Chibi. The nice lady who likes to shoot at people that works with your Papa asked me to keep an eye on you for a while."_

Seeing a familiar face that she semi-trusted, the little girl cried into her rabbit silently. Daniela pulled her into a massive hug, and the tears became a bit more vocal.

No one had really held her or even given her much comfort when she started crying. She was always in the way, and the odd lady who was smaller than her wasn't very good at being comforting.

Daniela felt both sympathy (for little Sakura) and beyond pissed (at Iemitsu for being completely incompetent as a father).

Fortunately she did know how to handle small children.

" _How about after we eat breakfast we find your little bunny a brother or sister?"_ she asked.

When in doubt, go toy shopping.

Little Sakura's eyes peaked out from under her bangs. The poor thing was still very skittish.

" _Can... can we have pancakes?"_ she asked carefully, as if not willing to hope that maybe her small request would be granted.

" _With lots of syrup and chocolate chips. Or maybe blueberries,"_ confirmed Daniela.

She spoiled her own grandchildren rotten, and there was no way she was passing up having a little girl around the house. This place was entirely too boring anyway.

Seeing the smile on the girl's face when all sorts of pancakes were brought out (in funny shapes, like rabbits and hearts), Daniela had to grin.

Sakura only really started to perk up at the toy store, especially when Daniela didn't discourage her from the more expensive dolls. They ended up walking out with an even bigger rabbit doll (one that dwarfed little Sakura, much to Daniela's open amusement), and odd frog that had caught her attention, and what appeared to be a cat.

At least the little one wasn't two seconds away from crying again and had finally calmed down properly. More to the point, Daniela was able to scrounge up some absolutely _adorable_ outfits and managed to coax Sakura into showing her face properly.

The effect was instantaneous and she had everyone in the manor wrapped around her little fingers by dinner. She was far too cute for her own good and her innocence was a breath of fresh air.

Of course nothing could have prepared them for the sheer cuteness the day Xanxus happened to visit in an effort to avoid his father...only for little Sakura to stumble across him with a book in hand.

* * *

" _Pretty..."_ she said mesmerized by the feathers in his hair.

Xanxus looked down at the tiny ball of fluff with what appeared to be an Italian version of the first _Lord of the Rings_ book.

Daniela didn't really _have_ children friendly books in her house, not since her grandchildren outgrew them. And she hadn't really bothered to get them out of storage.

Instead she read from more adult books like _Lord of the Rings_ , _Dragonriders of Pern_ and the _Acorna_ series (Sakura quickly proved to be a fan of Anne McCafferey...especially if it involved unicorns). As an unintended side effect, Sakura was learning Italian very quickly and tended to shy away from the more 'age-appropriate' drivel.

The kid looked up at Xanxus with wide, amber colored eyes and held up a book that had something marking the halfway point of _Fellowship of the Ring_. It looked like something he had seen his grandmother use a time or two when she was reading something.

"You want me to read that to you brat? Aren't you old enough to know how to read by yourself?"

Admittedly, _Fellowship of the Rings_ did have a lot of big words in it that would confuse most kids and could be a bit dry at times, but surely the kid could read it by herself and look up the words she didn't get later.

Imagine his surprise when the girl replied in _Japanese_.

" _Grandma is busy. I don't know how to read the funny letters yet,"_ she said unhappy.

Right, Japan had a completely different style of writing and it was unlikely the kid had ever read the roman alphabet before now. Though why a Japanese kid was in his grandmother's manor was a bit confusing.

Still, he had come to avoid his 'father' and if his Nonna was busy then he might as well find a new way to kill time.

Without thinking too hard on it, Xanxus scooped up the surprised little girl in his arms.

" _No interrupting unless we're about to change chapters, chibi,"_ he said firmly in Japanese. The girl brightened up considerably and nodded.

He found one of his usual throne like seats, and settled in with the book. From the looks of it, the kid was about at the part where the hobbits were in the barrow downs and about to enter Bree after the attack by the Barrow Wight. As he settled in to read, he almost started speaking in Japanese for her benefit.

The girl lightly tapped him on the nose.

" _Grandma reads it in 'Italian'. She said I won't pick up anything if I don't learn how to 'trans-late' from Japanese to that,"_ she said firmly.

Xanxus suspected this was one of Daniela's little tricks.

" _Have you read the book in Japanese, chibi?"_

The girl nodded.

" _All three of them, but Grandma says I should learn to read romanji. I got most of the letters down but the spelling is very confusing."_

Xanxus easily switched to Italian and let the girl settle in as he began to read from the chapter. The kid was quiet and listened intently as he read for her, only interrupting as they were about to move on to a new chapter.

It was only natural he'd miss the fact his Nonna was in the doorway with a camera in her hands and her Rain with a video camera in theirs.

He paused and put the bookmark back where they left off, which was when Frodo woke up in Rivendale after being chased by the Ring Wraiths.

"I see you've met little Sakura," said Daniela beaming. Who knew Xanxus was good with kids?

"Who's kid is she?"

"Iemitsu, though she's been living here with me because that _idiota_ has absolutely no idea how to raise a child. He left her with his subordinates and didn't even bother to make sure she was adjusting after her mother died."

Xanxus knew better than to ask, at least not with the kid within hearing, so he put her down.

Being suckered into staying the night wasn't too hard, though he had to wonder how the hell the kid had managed to find his room and curl onto his chest when he was dead asleep...or more importantly, why she hadn't woken him sneaking into the room.

He had already resigned himself to many, many 'adorable' pictures from his grandmother who found the fact that the girl had attached herself to him cute beyond words.

Though the pictures had nothing on the way Daniela had beamed when Sakura hesitantly called him "Onii-san".

He only found out later that the chibi had been very closed off until recently, so the fact she had attached herself to him was a sign she was starting to heal from the trauma of losing her mother and being relocated to a new country where she was completely in over her head.


	80. Cat and Mouse Chapter One

**Everyone, if it says I've updated and you still don't see the chapter, please DON'T panic. Odds are that I've posted it via the mobile app, which for some reason Fanfiction hates. From what I can tell it seems to have a time delay from when I post it and when it will show up.**

 **Also, if you've heard or read the series "Mouse", you should recognize the characters really quick. It's a Phantom Thief series that's REALLY mature and I would absolutely recommend it.**

* * *

The first time Mouse, or rather Sorata Muon, heard about the "Black Cat" was when he heard the last shout of the inspector who chased him all the time.

"Damn you Mouse! I'll catch you and that Black Cat one day!"

Sorata was rather confused by that comment, so he asked one of his girls what the inspector was talking about.

"Master, it seems there is a rookie thief with a high success rate that has been making a name for themselves by the monikor of Black Cat recently," said Mei.

"There is some major debate on the gender though. It could be a girl with a relatively small chest like Hazuki," said Yayoi.

Yayoi brought up one of the few pictures of "Black Cat", which had Sorata frowning for a second. The thief looked familiar for some reason, and not because he had seen them before.

He would definitely remember eyes like that.

"Is something wrong Master?" asked Mei.

"It's probably nothing..." he said.

Why did he keep thinking of his Aunt Nana all of a sudden? She hadn't spoken to the family in years, not since she got married and moved to another town.

The first encounter he had with the new thief was during a relatively low-level theft of a somewhat famous jewel.

He was mostly getting it for Mei's birthday.

It took him a moment to register the extra in his scheme to steal the jewel.

He spotted the hair first...the girl (and considering he lived with three of them he could spot the difference immediately) had wheat colored hair, amber colored eyes and was wearing a rather androgyneous outfit that covered everything and didn't reveal their gender.

It was the eyes and the shape of the face that once again made him think of his aunt. Why, he had no idea but he had the suspicion there was a good reason for it.

He would need to have a talk to this Black Cat to find out what it was.

It was easy enough to acquire the jewel...Black Cat was quite good, but somewhat clumsy.

However it was what happened after while they were escaping that lead to a rather surprising turn of events.

He only had a second's warning, and that wasn't nearly enough. Hazuki went to block the knife attack on instinct.

Except it never reached that far.

" _ **Stop!"**_

Mouse felt a shiver as some sort of power went past him and hit the man attempting to kill him. He half-turned and realized that Black Cat's eyes were glowing an amber orange color, and it had been her voice that stopped the attack. The man was almost frozen, in some strange way.

Once they were well out of harm's way he started moving again. However Mouse's full attention was on Black Cat, who was coughly up a disturbing amount of blood.

He managed to catch her before she fainted entirely, though she curled into his arms on instinct.

"Yayoi, I want you to have a complete physical done on Black Cat," said Mouse.

"Yes, Master."

"Also...it may be nothing, but could you run a DNA sample against the ones we have on file?"

"Master?" asked Mei.

"It's just a feeling," said Mouse.

His slaves easily took Black Cat to a hospital under the control of the Muon family. Since she had used that odd ability to protect their Master, rather than use it on him directly to get the jewel, she was given the best of care.

Sorata wasn't entirely too shocked when the test results came back. He was worried about Black Cat though...she was still out cold after using whatever that ability was to shield him.

Yayoi came in with the test results.

"Master, there was a partial hit on the girl's sample. It came back to a 'Muon Nana'."

Sorata felt some relief. So he hadn't imagined the odd resemblance!

"So she is my cousin then?"

"Master?" said Mei in confusion.

"I have an aunt, though we haven't heard from her in over a decade after she got married. We just assumed she was enjoying life with her new family and kept her relation to us secret," said Sorata. "I always liked Aunt Nana."

"Master, the hospital called. She's awake, though the doctors would like to have a word with you about her condition," said Yayoi.

Sorata got dressed and went to meet his cousin.

* * *

Sakura Sawada knew she was in trouble now. Ever since she first discovered that ability, she had always known the consequence of using it.

Waking up in a hospital wasn't too surprising, however she was worried about _who_ had brought her here.

"Miss Muon? I'm Doctor Hiroshi. We had some concerns over your test results."

"Muon?" she repeated baffled.

The door opened revealing a man about twenty-ish with another doctor.

"Oh good, you're awake. You scared us when you collapsed like that."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sorata Muon...and I'm your cousin," he replied.

"EH?!"

Hotaru was in shock, by the time he was done explaining it.

"So Mama is your father's younger sister? Why didn't she ever mention I had a cousin?" said Sakura.

"I don't know. We lost contact with her after she got married," said Sorata.

While the news that her organs were in rough shape wasn't entirely shocking, the fact she had a cousin was.

Considering she was still a bit weak, she was quietly relocated to a small house until she was up to returning home.

"So...what made you decide to become a thief?" asked Sorata.

"...You're Mouse, aren't you?" she asked.

Sorata's smile shifted, just a little, but he was still kind.

"I am."

"Phantom thieves bring hope, don't they? And it's not like I would ever get into college. Besides, with this ability of mine, I had a higher chance of getting out of trouble."

"What is that ability of yours?"

"I call it Dominion. It works best with eye contact, but if they can hear my voice it's still effective. But every time I've used it I always feel really weak after. And it's been getting worse," she said quietly. "I have no idea what it is, just that so long as I give the command it will be obeyed without question."

Sorata was nice, and something about him made her feel relaxed. Like she could trust him completely.

Once she felt up to it, Sorata made sure she was able to get home.

She had no idea the consequences of meeting her first cousin would be.

* * *

"Mei, I want you to do a full investigation of Iemitsu Sawada. Yayoi, Hazuki, I want you to find out more about Sakura's home and school life," said Sorata.

"Yes Master," said the girls.

Something about the whole situation felt _wrong_ to him. Nana didn't recognize him at all, and when he brought up the subject of his father, she had seemed dazed and almost disoriented. Never mind the fact she didn't even _question_ why her daughter was missing for five full days.

It didn't take much for them to come back to him with some rather alarming results.

"Master, it seems this Iemitsu Sawada is part of the Italian mafia, specifically the external advisory group of the Vongola famiglia," said Mei. "According to our sources, he boasts about what a 'loving family man' he is, but has been regularly seen with other women and hasn't been back since your cousin was born more than two or three times."

 _That_ pissed Sorata off. How dare that man treat his Aunt Nana like that?!

"And her living situation?"

"She's being bullied, rather heavily," said Yayoi. "Nearly the entire district knows her as 'Dame-Sakura', and the teachers are doing nothing to discourage the behavior of the children when it comes to her. Far from it, I've found several instances where she has tried to get her grade average up only to be accused of cheating and has received harassment from the teacher in question. She has zero friends. I suspect the Black Cat persona is her only outlet."

Sorata was _not_ happy. Not only was his cousin being bullied, but it was clear that the man his aunt had married was less than a good husband. Never mind the fact that Sakura seemed openly resigned to the fact her mother either didn't care and that her father was nonexistent.

He wasn't about to let this sort of situation stand, not if he could do something about it. Besides, his aunt's behavior when he visited worried him greatly.

It was time to start making some arrangements.

* * *

 _Sakura POV_

It was back to her boring life. Good thing Hibari accepted the doctor's note and the hospital bill as a 'Hibari-approved' excuse for missing almost a week of school.

"Hey, check it out!"

"What's with the limos?"

Sakura looked out the window to see what everyone was making such a commotion about, only stop and stare in shock.

Wasn't that her cousin Sorata? What was he doing here?

"Look, it's Hibari-sempai!"

She couldn't see what was being said, but to her complete disbelief Hibari-sempai stood aside and let them enter the school unharmed.

"Everyone calm down and get back in your seats!" shouted Nezu-sensei. She didn't particularly like him much.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the door opened revealing Hibari's right hand Kusakabe.

"Is Sawada-san in here? She's wanted in the receiving room."

Sakura paled. _Everyone_ knew that office was Hibari's den, and to be called there was an almost guarantee of being bitten to death. She thought he had cleared her for that absence last week!

She took her bag, feeling as though the sword of Damocles was over her head.

So imagine her shock seeing her cousin in the office talking easily with Hibari!

"Sakura-chan! We came to pick you up," said Sorata.

"What's going on?" she asked, baffled and wide eyed.

"Hn. You're being transferred to a new school, effective immediately," said Hibari.

"Eh?!"

Sorata had a grin on his face as he made sure her classmates all saw _her_ being loaded into the limos they brought with them. Nana was being given a full exams by trained doctors in several fields to determine what was going on with her. The fact she barely reacted to basically being kidnapped was highly worrying...she was like a puppet who's string was cut, and nothing like the woman he remembered.

"What the heck is going on?!"

"We've removed you from Namimori," said Mei. "It was rather easy to get temporary custody handed over to Master after we presented the evidence of bullying and possibly neglect."

"But Mama takes care of me," protested Sakura.

"Aunt Nana was a lot more lively and vibrant before she got married, and neglect doesn't have to present obvious signs for it to be present. Emotional neglect is just as damaging," said Sorata. "It's only temporary until we find out what happened to her."

"But...my school?"

"The Muon family has control of a rather famous and well respected school. Thanks to our connections you'll be accepted immediately as a transfer, once we have a general idea of what your placement should be," said Mei. "At the very least I wouldn't be surprised if they put you into the art department, since Master works part time there as his cover."

Everything was moving way too fast for her. Her head felt like it was spinning.

Without realizing it, she fainted from the sheer overload of what was happening to her.

"Well that could have gone better," said Sorata.

Sakura woke up in a bed that wasn't her own, in a room that was very unfamiliar.

It took her a few seconds to register the fact that the window was open and she had a clear view of the sky.

Going out to the balcony, she almost cringed when she saw how high up she was!

Feeling the hand on her shoulder, she turned to find her cousin.

"Where am I? What the heck is going on?"

Sorata smiled at her.

"Well when I found out how bad things were for you in Namimori, I made sure to do something about it. This apartment is yours now," he replied. "I wasn't about to leave my baby cousin in a horrible situation like that."

Somehow, she had the feeling her boring and somewhat unhappy life was about to change in a big way.

* * *

Momozuka-san was a very odd man, but he was rather nice.

"The history of the Muon family and that of the Mouse legacy has gone on for well over four hundred years. In that time many males of the Muon line have taken up the name and responsibility of Mouse. Young master Sorata is the 20th head of the Muon family and the current Mouse. The females, however, serve a different role as the peacemakers of the family and the ones who insure that the influence of the Muon family never wanes," said Momozuka-san. "This can primarily be attributed to the fact that whenever a woman is born into the family, oftentimes it goes hand in hand with a very rare gift of being able to sway even the most difficult of people to the side of the Muon family."

"You mean my ability to give orders and have people follow them without question is _normal_?" said Sakura shocked.

The old man coughed a bit.

"Actually from what we've been able to ascertain from the physical you were given, the ability is being powered from an internal source, but there is some form of block. Whenever you use it, the resulting backlash causes damage to your internal organs. The natural hypnosis ability of the Muon's female line seems to have transcended into something a bit more powerful," he explained.

Finding out that her ability was actually inherited was something of a relief.

"So what exactly do I do?" she asked. It sounded like the Muon family was really important.

"Since you have inherited the ability of the Muon family, that makes you the current heiress until Master Sorata decides to have children. You are free to continue acting as Black Cat, with all the resources of the Muon family available to you, or you may continue your education the Momozuka clan has served the Muon family for generations and is at your disposal," he replied.

It sounded like she was free to do whatever she wished, to a point.

"What's going to happen to Mama?"

"Miss Nana is being overlooked by specialists. With any luck we'll find out exactly what was done to her and be able to reverse it," he replied immediately. "Until then continue as you have been."

 _In school_

"Everyone, I want you to give a nice welcome to my little cousin here. Why don't you introduce yourself?" asked Sorata.

Everyone in his class had been briefed about the fact she had been bullied a lot in her last school, and that he would be keeping a close eye on her until she got settled in.

This would be her first official day as a student of Yamanoue's high school freshman class.

Needless to say everyone in his class was rather eager to meet his cousin.

Sakura walked in, still a bit nervous.

"Um...hello. My name is Sakura Muon. It's nice to meet you," she said a bit quietly.

"Sakura-chan, why don't you sit next to Tsuki-chan over there?" said Sorata gently.

Sakura took the only available seat.

"So how are you related to Chuu-chan?" asked Yuki, who sat behind Tsuki.

"My mom is his father's younger sister. It was only recently that they managed to find her after she was married and found out I existed," said Sakura.

Which was more or less true, but didn't tell the full story.

"What did your dad have to say about all this?" asked Tsuki.

"I wouldn't know. He left us years ago," said Sakura bitterly.

Reading the rather extensive file on Iemitsu had insured she wanted nothing to do with him or his famiglia.

Ever since he found out Iemitsu was unfaithful to his aunt, the Vongola famiglia had become persona non grata to anyone with connections to the Muon family.

Ironically Nana (and by extension Sakura) had more influence than Iemitsu or the Vongola did.

From what they could find out, Nana had fallen for Iemitsu while working undercover as a waitress and simply kept her true heritage a secret because Iemitsu had been less than honest with her from the start. If he had simply come out and told her he was part of the mafia, odds were she would have revealed the fact she was part of the Muon main family. Then when she had Sakura she simply decided to keep it all a secret until things started to fall apart.

"So Koneko-chan, what was your last school like?" asked Tsuki, wisely changing the subject.

"Koneko-chan?" repeated Sakura.

"Well we call Sorata-sensei 'Chuu-chan' or 'Chuuta-sensei', and you look like a skittish kitten, so Koneko," explained Yuki. "What do you call him?"

"Onii-chan, because he said he never had a little sister before," she said blushing. "And my last school wasn't very nice. Everyone called me by Dame-Sakura, even the teachers."

"That's horrible," said Tsuki appalled.

"It wasn't too bad... Hibari-sempai kept the worst bullies out. If they tried to escalate beyond name calling or minor shoving he came down on them hard," said Sakura.


	81. Shield of Hope Chapter Two

It was official. None of her team liked dogs.

Hibari made short work of the two headed beast with a distinctly annoyed look on his face at the interruption.

Raphtalia looked positively terrified and Nozomi had always disliked them after she was bitten by that rather mean chihuahua when she was four.

Shirayuki looked very much like he wanted to join Hibari in killing the beast...then again he was a rabbit. Dogs chased rabbits all the time.

"Talia. Talia, can you hear me?" said Nozomi gently.

Raphtalia came back to her senses, but it was clear that seeing the dog had rattled her badly. Nozomi pulled her into a hug and didn't let go. Raphtalia broke down in sobs.

"It's okay, imouto. I'm right here," said Nozomi gently. Raphtalia had to look up a bit, when she felt the gentle hand on her head.

It was Hibari. Almost as if he was silently including his own support.

A strange warmth filled her body, almost as if she finally found the place she belonged. A place where she would always be accepted and given warm hugs when she needed them.

Raphtalia just cried, letting out every bit of pain she felt from losing her parents, and the happiness she felt when she first met Nozomi.

She never would have expected the shield hero to be this nice or so warm.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired of this dungeon. Why don't we clear it out tomorrow?" asked Nozomi.

Hibari said nothing...though Raphtalia squeaked a bit when (with a little help from Hibari) she was put on Nozomi's back and given a piggy-back ride. Shirayuki even settled on her head and took a nap.

That rabbit got along far too well with Hibari, that was for sure. It was really weird.

It took them three days to get through the dungeon. Hibari was rather happy about it all considered...while the girls (and the rabbit) took out the trash monsters he got to play with the strongest ones all he liked without them even remotely trying to stop him or get in his way.

They even got a monster egg out of cleaning out the mines.

"I've never had a pet before... I wonder what will hatch from it," said Nozomi.

Hibari silently held up a less than amused Shirayuki.

"Yuki's not a pet...he's one of our companions!" said Nozomi giggling.

The rabbit's annoyed look turned to pride that she didn't consider him some mere pet.

He also tried to kick Hibari in the face. He was not successful and it set off another 'play fight'.

* * *

 _In Namimori..._

He had been tracking down that troublesome book for some time and recently got a solid lead on where it was. With any luck he would be able to deal with the blasted thing once and for all.

What he found had him rather furious and fully prepared to castrate that idiot for sending it to his _civilian_ family.

Fon took out his phone and dialed Lal Mirch.

" _Did you find the book?"_

"Oh I found it alright. The Mist territory has been activated."

" _Shit. Any idea who got caught?"_ asked Lal in frustration.

She had been the one to mention seeing a book that fit Fon's description of a rather troublesome "Mist-Trap" that had been eluding his clan for centuries. Only to find out too late Iemitsu had apparently used it as a belated birthday present for his kid.

Fon looked to Kusakabe, who was hoping he had an idea of what happened to Kyouya. He had disappeared over a week ago along with another student, and they had no idea what happened outside of a foreign book being turned into lost and found that same day.

Kusakabe hadn't been with Kyouya for nothing all these years, because he immediately confiscated the book once it was brought up.

"Kyouya and I'm assuming Sawada's child as well. Anyone near the book when the trap is triggered will be sucked in, and I'm betting Kyouya recognized it and tried to confiscate it before that happened."

Even Kyouya knew that book was dangerous. He would have removed it from the hands of anyone who didn't know what it was.

And now his son was trapped in the damn book. This was a complete mess.

" _Is there any way to get the kids out?"_

"Getting people out before the book has run out is impossible. However it _is_ possible to send people inside, but they'll be trapped there with the one who activated it. I'll need Mammon's help though," said Fon tiredly.

It would take a lot of Mist flames to enter that book when it was active. Fon just hoped the miser didn't empty his bank account for it.

It took a few days, but once Fon had everything he needed he was sent into the innocent looking book.

What he found there fit all the descriptions that he had heard about the place.

Medieval scenery, a strong dislike of those with animal features, and the belief that the Shield hero was a rapist.

All of which fit into the basic 'plot' written by the Mist who created the book in the first place. The only way out was to survive to the end.

Fon hid behind his usual serene smile, though something seemed different this time.

It took him a few hours to place what it was.

Apparently not everyone hated the Shield hero, and there was quite a bit of doubt by those who had actually met him as to whether he had in fact raped the princess.

Fon kept an eye out for Kyouya. His son was his immediate priority at the moment.

"Did you hear? That demon child Hibari was at it again!" said one woman. Fon immediately perked up at the name.

"I know! I guess we shouldn't have expected much out of that awful Shield Hero's companions. I heard he even has a rabbit as one of his party, and a massive bird that likes to kick the unwary!"

"How dreadful!"

Fon walked up to the gossiping women.

"Pardon me, young ladies (which got the middle aged women to titter a bit at being called such) but I couldn't help overhearing about the Shield hero and his companions. Would you be so kind as to describe them for me? I would rather not associate with such dreadful people like that by accident," said Fon pleasantly, lying through his teeth.

If he was right, then Kyouya had somehow become part of the Shield hero's team. And considering what he knew of the book, that meant he was keeping a close eye on Sawada's child.

Fon patiently listened to the slightly conflicting descriptions, but a few things stood out.

Apparently everyone was under the believe Kyouya was some sort of bird demi-human. That and the Shield hero was a rather tiny thing who had somehow gained the favor of a rather vicious breed of rabbit, one that had been seen fighting with Kyouya more than once in the mornings and evenings.

Fon had to chuckle when he heard that, because it sounded like his son had found a rather amusing sparring partner. There was also a raccoon Demi-human that he dismissed...more often than not, "Raphtalia" was chosen as the first true companion to the Shield hero either through an event or simply because she was one of the cheapest slaves available.

There was one thing that he found out, while in the 'starting point'. The next wave was due to start in three days. Fortunately he was well aware of "where" it would happen so he could reach the town in time to do something about it and hopefully find his son.

* * *

The wave of calamity was terrible, and the fact Hibari had to keep protecting her from "friendly" fire made things even worse.

On the plus side, Firo was almost full grown and she almost had enough to afford a cart.

Nozomi, rather than rest when it was over, decided to start sharing the healing potions she had made. She had gotten really, really good at those.

It only took one brave soul before they actually accepted the bottles, but the fact she was able to help triage the wounded soldiers allowed the priests to focus on the more heavily wounded and conserve their strength.

That seemed to at least earn some of their grudging respect. She'd take what she could get.

However the second she heard that _all_ the heroes were being recalled to the castle, she felt her blood run cold.

She really didn't want to go back there.

Nozomi squeaked when she felt the comforting grip of Hibari on her shoulder. The two had come to an understanding in regards to the team.

While Nozomi dealt with public relations, Hibari was in charge of training them to fight since he had the most experience. Unfortunately this was of little use to Raphtalia, who had to make do with trial and error since she used a sword, not a pair of tonfa.

For Nozomi, however, his experience was nothing short of necessary. Thanks to him she had become increasingly competent at fighting hand to hand, which was a good thing considering she had a "shield" as a weapon. The fact she seemed to have an actual knack for learning how to fight without any weapons only made Hibari rather pleased. It meant his effort wasn't wasted.

"I really don't want to go there."

Unfortunately the guard had made it clear that attendance was mandatory. She could only hope nothing _else_ happened, after what Mein had tried to pull.

 _In the castle..._

Nozomi did her best to keep her head down and away from the other heroes. While she got along well enough with the Bow and Sword heroes, the same could not be said of the Spear. Besides, Mein kept giving her such foul looks that it reminded her of the worst girls in her class.

Ren and Itsuki finally wandered over to her little corner.

"You okay, Usagi-chan?"

"I don't like this place. I just know the king is going to try something to go after me again," said Nozomi miserably.

Shirayuki bounded up her arm to sit on her head and give the two other Heroes a dark look. He lightly tapped his foot and gave them a Look that said volumes of how badly he'd kick their ass if they made her cry.

The two looked at him, then at Nozomi.

"Is this your pet?"

"He's my friend. This is Shirayuki, and he's the strongest ninja rabbit in the lands," said Nozomi with a light smile.

"Ninja," started Ren, his mouth quivering.

"Rabbit?" said Itsuki, openly grinning.

"Don't look at me like that! It was in his description when he joined our party! At least he keeps Hibari from being bored."

"Yeah...where did you find that tengu anyway?" said Ren nervously.

Hibari had done more damage during the wave than anyone in their party, and if he had been able to reach them in time the two had no doubts he would have taken on the Chimera simply for the thrill of fighting it. He was very firmly a battle junkie, and the thought of him around Usagi made them rather nervous for her safety.

"Slave market. I spent most of the coins freeing him and the rest on Talia and her medicine. I wasn't going to force someone as proud as him to act as my weapon...besides he joined of his own free will anyway when I promised him I wouldn't ask him to fight anything less than a strong opponent. He's mostly been teaching me to fight."

"Now that's a laugh," said Moyotama loudly. "The shield hero actually being able to fight! There's no way you'd be able to handle a real battle! I bet you hid behind those slaves of yours during the wave!"

Nozomi clutched her chopsticks tightly.

"I had heard that one of the heroes was relying on _slaves_ to fight. I should have known it was the Shield Hero," said the king derisively.

Nozomi felt a pit of dread in her stomach, one that panned out as the Spear challenged her to a fight.

It was clear the King was going to take the fact she had been forced to use slaves as her companions out on her, though why he hated her so much she had no idea.

At least she wasn't entirely helpless like before. She had some training in how to fight back, and she refused to let that arrogant bastard win.

It was time to earn some of her self-respect back...even if it was unlikely she'd be able to do the same when... _if_ she was able to return home.

It all reeked of a set up, in her opinion. She did get some measure of amusement seeing Hibari and Shirayuki put down any guards who attempted to hold Raphtalia or themselves back so they didn't try to 'interfere' with the fight.

They had no idea that there was a hidden watcher, observing the entire thing with open interest.

* * *

 _Up in the audience..._

Fon felt a great deal of interest watching the shield hero...or heroine, as he suspected from her chi signature alone... fight back with only her hands and a rather limited amount of what was clearly martial arts training. Considering the time frame, someone must have trained her.

He had a good idea whom, considering he sensed Kyouya's presence nearby and he recognized the 'soft' style of jujitsu that the girl was using as one of many taught by the clan.

He mostly observed her skill level, which wasn't very high, but still fairly good for a beginner as he suspected she was. At least she seemed to have the bare basics of the style down and kept instinctively correcting her footing without any help.

But it was the power he felt coming off her that held his interest the most.

The girl was a Sky...a rather powerful one of unusual purity at that, and he detected the distinct traces of a quickly developing Guardian bond that felt like it lead straight to Kyouya.

How interesting! His son had accidentally found his Sky, even if he was playing at being a tengu at the moment. All it would take was a bit of a nudge and there would be a full blown bond between them.

Best of all, the girl clearly had a natural aptitude for hand to hand combat from what he could tell. He couldn't wait to see what she could do with real training from an expert teacher.

To say Fon was positively giddy at this development was an understatement.

Then something happened that brought his attention fully back on the fight.

And that was the sound of ripping cloth, followed by a very feminine outcry of "PERVERT!" and the clear sound of a nasty slap to the face.

Apparently Moyotama had managed to land a brief blow on the girl, and when he went to pull his spear up had caused her shirt to rip open revealing a breast band and still developing bust.

Dead silence.

"What is the meaning of this?!" demanded the king, furious.

"I should ask you the same thing! It's not enough you convinced your daughter to make such a horrible accusation against me, but now you have the Spear hero trying to assualt an underage _girl_ and pretend it's justified!" she snapped back. "Not a single one you besides Ren or Itsuki bothered to confirm whether or not I was a boy!"

Raphtalia, using a judicious amount of elbowing the people in her way, was able to throw a jacket to cover up the fact her 'sister' was exposed in front of so many strangers.

Kyouya went to stand in front of his Sky with a particularly bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.

"If you attempt to harass the little rabbit, I'll bite you to death."

"With what, that stupid beak of yours?" sneered Moyotama.

As if the revelation of the Shield Hero's gender wasn't shocking enough, the 'tengu' reached back around his head and did something.

The stunned silence when he pulled off the beak, revealing handsome and definitely _human_ features was rather amusing.

"I never said I was a tengu. I just prefer to wear the filter since it deters the female herbivores from trying to get into my pants," he deadpanned.

Nozomi's face went pale as she squeaked...

"Hibari-sempai?!"

Kyouya's smirk was decidedly bloodthirsty. Fon had to hold back a laugh.


	82. Lost Souls Chapter One

When Alexander was first born, she had thought it would be the happiest day of her life. And it was, to an extent...even if he was the product of a drunken one night stand with a man she vaguely remembered.

She absolutely loved her son, even if the others were less than comfortable around him. So what if Alex had the same red eyes as his father? He wasn't Tom Riddle reborn!

However after dealing with Voldemort for the better part of a few decades, few could forget his red eyes. The fact her son was a bastard was another sore point, even if he was magical.

She lost her patience and her tolerance to the sheer idiocy of those with magic when she caught Hermione trying to find a ritual to "insure" Riddle didn't find a way to get reborn through his arch enemy.

"Hermione, what the hell are you doing?" asked Circe.

What followed was the single most ridiculous 'excuse' she had heard, and she _lived_ in the magical communities.

"Just to be clear, because of my _son's_ red eyes you think he's Tom Riddle who's somehow managed to be reborn through me, despite the fact that his eyes were more of a dark crimson red, whereas Alex has more of a ruby red?" Circe asked, pretending patience.

It had amused her that her son had inherited coloration of his father, but managed to retain the 'gem-like' quality of her own green eyes.

Hermione nodded, glad her friend was at least being sensible about all this.

"And Mrs. Weasley is still upset I had a child out of wedlock, correct?"

"Honestly Circe, I can't believe you were so reckless."

Circe's smile looked kind, but inside she was furious beyond belief.

"Thank you," she said.

Hermione was about to speak, before Circe continued.

"Thank you for opening my eyes to what a complete and utter fool you are. It's not enough I have to deal with the idiots who make such snide and cruel comments behind my back and the more subtle biting ones to my face about the fact I have no idea who my son's father is. It's not enough that the people I should be able to trust and consider family all make sniping remarks about how 'improper' and 'stupid' I'm being. It's not enough that you take one single feature and completely blow things out of proportion without even trying to think things through," said Circe, her fury becoming clear with each sentence. "No, now my _former_ best friend wants to potentially _kill_ my son over a completely ridiculous theory without even consulting ME first."

"I was only trying to help!"

"No, you were trying to push your narrow world view on _my_ child and on me, and frankly I've had enough of the bullshit. It's about time I left England and actually started living, rather than get stuck in the same mindset that caused every bit of pain I went through," said Circe.

There was no stopping her now, and frankly England had far too many bad memories for her to consider staying.

Within a few weeks, the biggest news of the season had hit.

The infamous Woman Who Won had left England, permanently, with her son following an argument with Granger over the fact that the honorary pure blood had tried to perform a ritual believing Potter's child was the dark lord reborn.

Never mind that the only "indication" Alexander Corvus Potter-Black was 'possibly' the Dark Lord reborn was his eyes.

More sensible minds prevailed on that end, as they pointed out that Alexander's eyes were closer to a ruby red as opposed to the menacing crimson the Dark Lord had before his demise.

What really set the people in a tizzy was that Potter was apparently irritated enough with all the backlash of the fact her son had no known father...that she was moving _all_ of her gold with her to whatever country she decided to settle in.

Considering the bounties, the inheritance she got from being Head of the Potter and Black families, the defaulted vaults because she was the last living 'relation' of certain families that died out during the war or were 'handed' to her by grateful witches and wizards since they couldn't think of anything else to give her... that was a lot of gold she was taking with her.

Fortunately she wouldn't completely empty the Potter vaults (she still had to pay taxes and other miscellaneous bills, after all) but the bulk of it would be transferred to another branch. Well out of the Ministry's control and it meant the price of the galleon went up.

If Potter's departure didn't send the entire economy into a depression, it would be a miracle. And there was nothing the Ministry could do about it, because she had made it clear any attempts to keep her in England (or at least the gold) would end very badly.

If not because of her fans, then from the irate witch herself who was all too happy to 'redecorate' any location they chose to confront her in.

Circe was just glad to be out of a country that had nothing but bad memories and some really bad blood for her.

Besides, she had been wanting to investigate a few rumors she heard about a cousin who started up an unofficial branch of the Potter family since she found those journals.

* * *

 _In Italy_

It was official. Italians were ridiculous, though at least she had figured out a few things. She did wonder what their obsession with the weather was about though.

First off, her cousin had apparently followed the Potter's habit of being 'inspiring leaders' and started a vigilante group...which shortly after he was 'forcibly retired' became the precursor to the Mafia.

Giotto had then moved to Japan where he spent the remainder of his days until his death, hiding under the name Ieyasu.

From there things turned...interesting and slightly surprising.

Namely the fact that when she investigated the _current_ members of the Vongola family, she discovered a very familiar face.

Xanxus Vongola, the 'youngest' son. Who was put under 'house arrest' roughly a year to the _day_ that Alexander was born.

Her scrying revealed it was less "house arrest" and more in line with 'suspended animation'. Considering Giotto would have known spells to pull something like that off (though few would be pleasant for the victim) she could only imagine what he was currently going through.

Hell, she had found records of how to 'invert' the power of soul fire to the point it became _ice._

Considering the amount of grief the 'soul fire actives' were giving her (and there were a surprising abundance of them in Italy for some bizarre reason) she didn't need much motivation to figure out the trick herself.

That being said, there was no way in _hell_ she was going to the Vongola and telling them about Alexander. From what she had found via listening to rumors about Xanxus...she had used her gender to indicate she was very much interested in the Varia boss, and with his looks she couldn't possibly be the first...the Ninth was a true idiot.

He had paraded Xanxus as an heir, when anyone with eyes and a brain could tell they weren't related in the least. Not directly anyway... Xanxus shared a common ancestor or two on his mother's side, but it was very watered down.

Also, the Varia wasn't particularly well liked by the main family, much less the intelligence organization known as CEDEF.

(Though what she found out about Iemitsu had her promptly striking him from the Potter family tree. His son might be salvagable, but that narcissistic, arrogant bastard had no place in the family as far as she was concerned.)

The soul fire users were becoming very annoying. Perhaps it was time to move on.

Besides, she still had to assess whether the great-great-great grandson of her cousin was worth keeping in the family. At the very least, Japan's magical educational standards were far superior to any she had found in Europe.

* * *

When Tsuna first met her, he didn't know what to think. She was oddly nice, but he didn't expect it to last long. It never did.

Kuro-san was kind and very sympathetic about the bullying he suffered. Apparently she had a similar issue growing up, except her relatives were less than 'pleasant' when it came to actual caregiving.

After hearing even a tiny fraction of what she went through, Tsuna realized he had been lucky in that regard... his mother was absentminded but at least she still fed and kept him reasonably clothed. She was just a bit cruel with her remarks concerning his inability to handle school work and lack of friends.

It was pretty clear even to Tsuna that his mother had given up on him even remotely succeeding in life.

Kuro-san was kind, gentle and very caring. Even if she did have a habit of sometimes tricking Tsuna into babysitting little Xander. The kid was a hellion save for when he was around his mother and oddly enough, Tsuna himself.

So when his birthday came around, Tsuna didn't expect much. His mother rarely remembered it on the actual date most of the time and it wasn't like he had anyone who would bother celebrating it with him.

So imagine his surprise to see a banner in Kuro-san's house saying "Happy Birthday Tsuna" in multiple languages, plus several presents, a proper cake and food.

"What..."

"I know far too well what it's like not to be able to properly celebrate your birthday, or have friends around to help. So when I broke into the school to find your records I figured why not throw a proper celebration?" said Circe.

"...You broke in to look at my records?"

"Yup. I wanted to see exactly where the problem areas were and what we needed to work on. I don't care what the records say on _paper_...those teachers are idiots anyway. I'm going to arrange a few tutors to get you up to speed, and if you want to keep your grades low at school it's fine by me. I won't let those idiots hold you back anymore."

"So just to be clear, it's okay if my 'official' grades are bad so long as my real ones are decent and I actually understand the material," said Tsuna slowly.

"From what I've seen, those idiots would just assume you were cheating if they started to go up. Might as well toss their egos back at them when we show them they've been wrong about you for years," said Circe.

Tsuna only noticed he was crying after the fact. Circe let him hug her tightly, mostly because she could tell his tears were that of relief.

"Come on birthday boy," she said smiling gently.

"Can... Can I call you nee-san?" he asked shyly. She was like the protective big sister he always wanted.

"Of course you can. Once thing get settled down and the paperwork goes through for Xander to attend school, you can stay whenever you want. In fact, I bet your mother could really use the break and I know Italy is lovely this time of year," said Circe.

Tsuna didn't really care that he was crying on his birthday. He knew Kuro-nee was up to something that would cause a lot of chaos, but he couldn't find it in him to give a damn. It probably had a lot to do with his father and where that deadbeat really was all the time.

It was the best birthday he could remember, even if Xander insisted on a cake war right in the middle of it. It was so much fun he couldn't feel any annoyance at it...even if he was soundly beaten by the three year old.

The highlight of the night was Xander calling him "Tsuna-nii" though. He always wanted a little brother to spoil, and Xander would waddle behind him like a little duckling which he though was stupidly cute.

So did Kuro-nee... he knew he saw her taking multiple pictures while resisting the urge to cackle at the blackmail she would have years later.

Kuro-nee made a big pile in the living room for them to sleep on...sort of like a nest. She started humming something, before Tsuna was almost lulled into a sleep.

He didn't understand the words she sang, save for the fact it sounded a lot like the Latin she sometimes spoke. Something told him it was a different language based off it, likely Italian.

Whatever it was, it sounded nice. It also felt very warm and comforting, like Kuro-nee was hugging him on a bad day and telling him things would be alright somehow.

Two weeks later, Nana happily accepted the idea of a fully paid for cruise that would just by coincidence lead to the general area of Italy that Iemitsu lived in.

Circe would only find out afterwards that Potter Luck was apparently just as pissed with Iemitsu as she was... he was on the cruise with a couple of floozies and never saw his very unhappy wife bust him until after she clocked him in the face. There was no way he could easily explain himself flirting with other women or the less than chaste kissing he had been doing.

When Nana returned two months later, she was very unhappy with her soon-to-be _ex_ -husband. No amount of bullshitting was going to get Iemitsu out of a very _nasty_ divorce...especially since Circe paid for the best mafia lawyers money could buy to insure Nana gutted the idiot and had a nice trust fund for Tsuna set up that he could borrow from until it matured at his majority, at which point he would have full access to it.

And yes, she was going to enjoy the chaos it caused far too much. There was, however, a slight snag.

After being confronted with the reality of Iemitsu's infidelity, Nana had gone from "cheerfully absentminded" to straight out bipolar around her son. Originally he had been a reminder of the good times she had with her husband, but now she could barely tolerate looking at him.

Fortunately there was a simple, if slightly painful, solution to that.

Tsuna looked at the piece of paper and then at his mother. Nana, to her credit, did hesitate to sign it. After all, she did love her son but the recent betrayal stung a bit too deep at the moment. It was only temporary anyway...she hoped.

Circe countered signed it, and after a few days Tsuna officially became her ward.

Which meant she now had every legal right to rip those idiot teachers a new one for their incompetence, with Nana gone off to rediscover herself.


	83. Free Spirits Chapter One

When he took his first breath of air in his fourteen year old body, Tsunayoshi Sawada swore a blue streak quietly...so his mother didn't hear him.

His life before Reborn showed up had been nothing less than singularly awful, and now he would have to go through the motions all over again. This was going to suck.

Tsuna went to class, and half-assed everything without caring. It wasn't like the teachers gave a damn if he paid attention as they had long since given up on him years ago.

It wasn't until he spotted a familiar face that a crazy, wild idea occurred to him that would make it all bearable.

First he would have to confirm a few facts though. It would be just his luck that frequent exposure to that marshmallow addict would result in him being thrown into an alternate past.

It only took a week, and like clockwork he saw Hibari getting vastly more irritable and 'bitey' around the students. Seeing everyone avoid them like the plague on instinct was all the confirmation he needed.

With a wicked smile he had learned from the best, Tsuna began his plot. At the very least this would effectively kill time until Reborn showed up and with any luck avoid several hoops he had to jump through the first time.

It was a mystery that would plague Namimori for well over a year before Hibari finally had enough and tracked down the culprit. It had taken Kusakabe far too long to find out what exactly was going on, and when he did he was kicking himself for not thinking the obvious.

* * *

It all started with a bird. A tiny yellow puffball that was rather adorable and was capable of limited human speech. It certainly mastered the words "Hibari", "herbivore" and "bite" fast enough.

Hibari named it Hibird, and within a week it was soon never seen far from his side. It was strangely fitting to see the little ball of feathers on his shoulder, or flying around him when he was biting someone to death.

However once a month, shortly before the most dreaded time of the month started, Hibird would disappear for a few days and return with a box carried by several of it's friends.

The contents of which initially made Hibari _livid_ with rage and a fierce desire to bite the sender to death.

Because it took all of two months before Hibari realized the meaning behind it...namely that whoever had sent it via messenger bird knew he was in fact a _she_.

Kusakabe _almost_ pitied whoever was stupid enough to reveal they knew Hibari Kyouya was in fact Hibari _Kiyohime_. Except they had firmly brought it on themselves sending those herbs that were pretty much a dead giveaway that they knew Hibari's actual gender.

Every month after Hibird's arrival, it would disappear and then return with a similar box.

Eventually Hibari got over her anger at being found out to try one of the chocolates it always had inside...and melted.

Maybe she wouldn't bite the foolish herbivore to death. At least not until she found out where he got this absolutely _divine_ chocolate first.

(Kusakabe discreetly started searching for it himself, because it seemed to have a sedative effect on his boss to the point she was less grumpy compared to usual. He had little to no luck in that regard.)

White Day came and this time whoever the mystery sender was stepped it up a notch, because there were a pair of tonfas made entirely of white chocolate, caramel and berry filling wrapped in a very attractive white bow delivered outside the door of Hibari's personal den...aka the receiving room of Namimori Middle School.

Kusakabe silently applauded the brass balls on whoever pulled that off. It took guts and skill to deliver something like _that_ to Hibari's door and not get caught.

However the meaning behind it was blatantly clear. Whoever was doing this was discreetly courting Hibari.

Originally Hibari had dismissed the sentiment as 'too herbivore' for her tastes.

One bite of that white chocolate changed her mind. Now her eyes were full of _intent_ to find out which student was so brazen as to court her in the first place and to see if they were worth her time.

What really tipped the scales was the package delivered to her actual doorstep. Hibari didn't live with the rest of her family... it was too crowded and the elders were idiots who kept trying to marry her off because they didn't like her untamed spirit.

(If she had been born a boy, it would have been different and no one would have cared. But she was a woman and therefor had to be married off to better the family...hence why she hated being reminded of her gender.)

Finding that heated box with the most delicious hamburger steak cooked _exactly_ how she liked it said quite a bit about whoever her mysterious admirer was.

Namely that they knew entirely too much for her paranoia to particularly like. According to all the administrative records, she lived in the Hibari mansion just outside of town. Only two people knew her _actual_ address.

It took her a full two and a half months before she finally caught the one responsible.

She just didn't expect it to be the weakest herbivore in the entire school.

"Sawada. How do you know my address?" she demanded, trying to ignore the food in his hand.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you?" he offered sheepishly. She had to give him credit...he wasn't averting his eyes from hers and she had to wonder if his had always been that brilliant shade of amber orange.

It took her a few seconds to shake off that thought, before she glared at him.

As if it wasn't damning enough that she busted him delivering her lunch, Hibird flew out of the door and started making circles around his head chirping "Fox! Fox!"

Her glare doubled. She was able to ignore the fact that Hibird seemed entirely comfortable using his hair as a nest, and idly wondered how soft his hair actually was.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't bite you to death," she growled. Her tone made it clear he would be hospitalized in short order if he didn't come up with a compelling reason for her to temper her ire.

What happened next took her several seconds to register, but when it did she had to stare at him in absolute shock.

Because the weakest, most timid herbivore she had ever met hadn't tried to give her any number of 'reasons' for why she should allow him to leave unharmed. He gave no excuses, and he certainly didn't try to run.

He had kissed her, on the mouth and did something with his tongue against the roof of her mouth that had her stifle a moan because it felt entirely too good. It ended far too soon and it was only her iron control that kept her from reacting...that and the shock.

The impish look in his eyes and the calm expression on his face said volumes of what his intent was.

Finding the little box of chocolates on her personal desk in the office the next day with a little note that had a well drawn kitsune made it clear that Sawada intended to be a bit more open of his courting.

It only took one bite to confirm _he_ was the one who delivered Hibird and all those little presents to her.

She...wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this.

* * *

When Fon came to Namimori to see his little granddaughter, he wasn't expecting the minor amount of chaos that would have given Reborn endless amounts of entertainment.

It took him all of an hour after having one of his play fights with Kiyo before he tracked down Kusakabe and demanded answers.

Kusakabe merely directed Fon to the box he had been collecting, rather than say a word.

Fon took one look before an incredulous expression came across his face.

"Someone is courting Kiyo-chan?"

"I'm certain she has found out who it is, but every time I ask who they are she clams up and her ears turn red. I'm fairly certain they did something to short circuit her," said Kusakabe blandly. He might look uninterested but you could tell from his voice he was openly amused by this turn of events.

Fon had a conflicted expression on his face, before he settled down...and just started to laugh.

If someone had tried to hurt her, or worse, Kiyo-chan would have dealt with them herself. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to get handsy with her.

However from the sound of it, someone had managed to get past her defenses enough to get her interest, without being too forward about it.

It looked like his dear granddaughter had finally entered the springtime of her youth, and had found a boy who could potentially keep up with her for once. Or at least spark an interest in finding one who could.

He had to know who had the balls to openly court Kiyo, because this was hilarious. It took little time to follow the fluffy looking boy from the general vicinity of her apartment to a discreet little treehouse.

Inside he found quite a few things that amused him, namely the source of the mystery chocolates that his granddaughter had gotten addicted to that had such a pacifying effect.

Seeing a smile pile of obviously homemade sweets, he swiped one from the counter to see if he could figure out what it was that Kiyo liked about them so much.

The spicy content was mixed _perfectly_ in a way that didn't make his eyes water and the sugar wasn't so overbearing that it cloaked the taste of the spices. He could absolutely see why Kiyo liked them so much, if her little suitor was this skilled at making them.

It took a second one before Fon realized that perhaps the boy's courtship of Kiyohime was _more_ than just a boy showing attraction to a girl he liked.

Kiyo's suitor had _Sky Flames_.

Suddenly the boy's intentions took an entirely new spin, and in a way Fon was very pleased. If he was right and the boy courting Kiyo was a Sky, that meant he was potentially courting her as a Guardian and a girlfriend. It also meant Kiyo wouldn't have to suffer those idiots trying to marry her off anymore.

Fon was enjoying the sweet treats so much he failed to register someone coming in.

"You know if you wanted some of the chocolates you could have just asked," said a voice amused.

It took him all of three seconds to register the fact he had been busted. Fortunately the boy was a civilian so he allowed himself to drop his guard.

He knew most of the Skies the same age as his Kiyo, and none of them fit his description.

The boy had wild caramel colored hair that almost made him look like a fluffy lion cub. His eyes were a warm amber colored orange (thus confirming that he was at _least_ an inactive Sky) and very gentle. It was as Fon took notice of the callouses on his hands that he had to wonder if the child practiced some form of martial arts. He was petite and had a runner's build, and his very aura said volumes of what a gentle and kind soul he was.

All in all, it was slightly surprising he had chosen his violent Kiyo-chan as a potential Guardian and girlfriend, unless he was doing it instinctively.

"My apologies. I was just curious as to how exactly you caught my granddaugther's attention with chocolate of all things," said Fon pleasantly. He wanted to know more about the boy before he gave his blessing.

"Would you like some tea?" the boy asked.

"Yes please," said Fon, smiling. Such a polite child!

The boy pulled out a canister of oolong, which made Fon's estimation of him go up. From what he could tell, the teen was adding his flames to his cooking on instinct, though it did wonders to relax his guests.

"So...what is your name?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the teen replies, making Fon almost start at the name.

He only knew of one man named Sawada who had Sky flames, and he was hoping he was wrong. Iemitsu was not exactly a pleasant person to be around, according to Lal.

The boy seemed to sense Fon's surprise at the name, before he sighed.

"Let me make it absolutely clear that I have long since renounced anything to do with that man who claims he's my father. I can count the number of days he's actually spent around me, and as far as I'm concerned he'd a deadbeat bum who pays alimony and child support to my mother. I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if I have bastard half-siblings running around at this point," said Tsuna tiredly.

"You know who your father is?" asked Fon seriously.

"Iemitsu Sawada is not and never will be my father. I don't care if he did donate half his genetics to me...it takes more than blood to make one a parent," said Tsuna with conviction. "And if he tries to dictate how I live my life, I have absolutely no issue with punching him in the balls, tying him up and then throwing him in the river after a storm."

Fon had to admit, he was starting to like this boy. Talk about entertaining.

"So, what are you intentions with my granddaughter?" asked Fon, semi-serious with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I just wanted to avoid several of the hoops she would have made me go through in order to date her by being a sneaky fox about the whole thing and getting her attention that way," admitted Tsuna. "If I tried to approach her directly I never would have gotten the time of day from her, never mind the amount of bruises and broken bones she almost certainly would have given me."

Fon chuckled, because he was entirely correct. Kiyo would never look at someone like him if he had approached her directly. Forget her nature as a true warrior, Clouds were always difficult to court. Making light sneak attacks was far more effective than frontal attacks.

And that was before one took into account that Tsuna looked and felt like a 'small animal', and was therefor not worthy of her notice.

Hearing the chittering sound, Tsuna turns to find...a white monkey?

"That is Lichi, my partner," said Fon pleasantly.

"...Does your friend like dried fruits? I think I have some here they can have."

Hearing the word 'fruit', Lichi perked up and happily accepted the treat.

Fon had absolutely no issue with Tsuna dating Kiyo. Not that his opinion would have mattered, as his granddaughter was strong willed and stubborn, but his blessing would at least appease the rest of the clan.

"So Tsuna, do you like martial arts?" asked Fon.

If the boy didn't like them now, he'd have to develop an interest to survive Kiyo-chan.

"I'm pretty mediocre at it...mosty because all the places that teach it around here are more interested in sport competitions than the real thing. If I tried to learn in order to keep up with Hibari the instructors would always get a pained look on their face and tell me that they only focus on earning belts, not being violent demons," said Tsuna with scorn. "Besides, a few of my classmates go to those lessons and the last thing I want to deal with is being made a punching bag."

Fon wondered if the scorn was for the fact that they taught only for sport instead of actual training...or if it was because they had indirectly disparaged Kiyo-chan for being so violent with others. Either way it made the estimation of the boy only go up.

He planned to properly investigate young Tsuna before he would alert the clan to Kiyo's suitor.


	84. Stitch-y Situation Chapter One

When Reborn was told to teach the last potential heir to the Vongola into becoming Decimo, he hadn't thought much of it.

That was before he reached Namimori and developed an intense urge to murder Iemitsu in the most painful way possible.

The 'house' he was sent to was empty and it took several inquiries to find out where the girl actually was.

Only to arrive right as the house blew up and enraged feminine shriek erupted from the scene.

Reborn's eyebrows went up...he normally didn't see this sort of thing until _after_ he started causing chaos. He followed the source of the shriek and found his new student.

"For the love of the gods! How many times do I have to tell you not to play with explosives inside the house?! Now we have to rebuild it _again_!"

Reborn stared.

Did his new student just say 'again'? As in the house had blown up before?!

"It wasn't our fault!" complained a face he vaguely recognized. Mostly because of the boy's sister. "Verde left one of his experiments out and you know how Jumba gets when he's bored _and_ feeling competitive!"

Reborn's mind did a sudden stop...right as his pacifier started glowing.

As if his day hadn't been weird enough, Verde popped out of the rubble looking quite irate at what was either a genetic throwback, or far more likely an alien.

"You damn idiot, I told you to leave my experiments alone!"

"Calculations is wrong! Is simple fix!" said the alien arguing. From the lab coat Reborn could only guess the other being was a 'mad scientist' as well.

It was about that time Verde noticed his pacifier glowing, then searched around to find Reborn.

"Oh great, now your idiocy has drawn the chaos magnet to our lab!" he groaned.

Reborn felt perfectly justified in shooting at him. He already had a headache and was feeling rather murderous towards Iemitsu, and he hadn't even introduced himself yet.

"Explanations. Now. Before I break out the bigger guns," said Reborn flatly, rubbing his head from the migraine he had.

"Stitch would get rid of them," his soon-to-be student informed him. "We don't allow human weapons in the house, because Jumba has an annoying habit of trying to one-up them. It was hard enough to get him to leave Keiman alone."

"I don't care. I want to know what the hell is going on before I really start to up the havoc factor," said Reborn flatly. He really missed being able to say 'chaos' without the word coming out mangled.

"While these idiots fix up the house, would you like to get some coffee?"

"Please," said Reborn.

* * *

 _At the cafe_

"So just to be clear, Stitch (the blue 'koala' thing waved at him...while chugging the premium coffee like a pro) crash landed in the forest outside of town while you were lost on a school trip, managed to bond to you the same way Leon and Keiman are bonded to us as your partner, and you managed to argue that his 'sentence' be carried out on Earth because he was actually behaving around you and it meant they wouldn't have to deal with his antics anymore. As a side effect you are now the caretaker of his 'siblings', the idiot who created them and a highly misinformed 'expert' on Earth and it's inhabitants with a preference for female clothing," said Reborn.

That headache was only getting worse.

"I'm still confused why Mama was sent to that hospital and why Bubbles-san gave custody over to Uncle Jumba. Then again it wasn't like my father was ever going to come back, since he died a long time ago."

Reborn briefly entertained the idea of telling her the truth about Iemitsu being alive, but considering that idiot didn't even know his wife had been committed and a pair of aliens were now acting as her guardians or that _Verde_ of all people was living in the same house as her, he deserved the chaos of finding out the hard way how much had gone on while he kept his wife in the dark. Besides, the look on his face would _almost_ be worth the headaches he could already see coming his way when his daughter found out he was still alive.

The idiot deserved all the trouble this bunch was almost certainly going to give him for his long absence.

"And the two humans?"

"Hayato came when Jumba decided to troll the internet, specifically the chat boards regarding 'first contact' and the possibility of alien life. It had been a slow month since I banned him from the labs and he was bored. Next thing we knew, Hayato managed to hack into the cameras and when he realized he was talking to an actual alien he came straight here and never left. Verde showed up after Stitch hacked into _his_ computers and played havoc before Jumba caught him. The second he realized the potential for new experiments and weaponry, he decided to stick around and bring my education up to what he considered standard. The fact he didn't have to cook or worry that we'd steal his experiments in order to sell to the highest bidder was the main reason though," said Hikari. "It really didn't hurt that Jumba could provide what he considered an 'intelligent' conversation for once."

Reborn wanted to comment on that, but he could see it happening.

"So why are you here anyway?"

"I'm here to turn you into a mafia boss. Though considering what I saw earlier, I can honestly say I'm going to enjoy the sheer havoc you're about to unleash on the underworld once you come into your own. At the very least it would give the idiot scientists a bigger lab and research budget to play with and your 'friends' a bit more protection from the various governments if they were under mafia control."

"Which Family am I from?"

"Vongola," said Reborn.

"Hayato is going to be thrilled then. He's always wanted to be a high ranking member of the Vongola."

"Considering his background, he would make a suitable Right Hand and Storm," said Reborn.

"So what's your chameleon's name?" asked Hikari. She wasn't rejecting the idea outright and from the looks of things his antics wouldn't be more than an addition to what she already handled on a daily basis.

Reborn accepted the change of subject gratefully.

"His name is Leon."

Leon crawled onto Reborn's hand, turning into a gun...and earning the intense interest of Stitch.

The odd koala-dog thing said something in a language he didn't remotely recognize, but somehow Leon understood well enough.

Because he promptly turned into a mini version of Stitch, which had Hikari holding back a squeal at how cute he looked.

Stitch seemed satisfied though.

Hikari picked him up and put Stitch in her lap.

"This is Stitch. He's my best friend slash bodyguard, since certain idiots keep trying to come after me with lethal intent for some reason."

Stitch grinned at Reborn, with all his teeth showing.

"Is there any particular reason he's vibrating at the moment?" asked Reborn blandly.

Hikari smiled at him with a wicked grin.

"You like chaos, anarchy and all around mayhem, right?"

Reborn smiled beatifically at her, which cause anyone who saw it to shudder at the unholy look in his eyes.

It caused Hikari and Stitch to share a silent look, before Hikari beamed at him in a way that produced sunshine and sparkles...and just as much 'innocence' as Reborn was giving off.

"I think we'll get along just fine, Reborn. Anyway Stitch tends to get a bit...active...when he has enough caffeine in him. If you're ever really bored and want to see some chaos, just give him a large cup of high quality or highly caffeinated coffee and he'll deliver some chaos that will drive a lot of people up the wall. Right before he goes to play with Kyouya, because he can't really do anything to hurt Stitch and Stitch likes riling him up."

The _only_ reason Kyouya tolerated Stitch's presence (and that of his 'siblings') was because Stitch was a surprisingly good hand to hand fighter. He overcame his small size by using reinforced staffs and he enjoyed 'playing' with Kyouya when the teen was bored. It was a difficult and fun challenge for the older boy to fight something smaller than him that was highly intelligent, had four arms and was damn near indestructible by normal means.

Though as a courtesy...and because he didn't want to end the fight too fast...they never went at it around water.

He called Stitch the "protective carnivore", which made Stitch very pleased since coming from Kyouya it was a high compliment.

Then again he called Gantu the 'fake omnivore' the first time he met the "man", since he kept getting beaten by Stitch every time he tried to arrest him for causing trouble.

Reborn had a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"I only ever drink the high quality brands, and I personally grind my own beans. I won't accept that generic crap or anything instant."

"Oh thank the gods!" said Hikari, surprising Reborn greatly. "Finally, someone with actual sense when it comes to coffee! Those idiot scientists will drink rat poison and claim it's coffee, and they simply refuse to see reason when it comes to actual quality."

"Really now."

Hikari had a pained looked and pulled out the name of the "idiot scientists" favorite coffee brand. Reborn only had to take one look at it before he agreed with her.

"That is not coffee. I don't know what that abomination is, but it is an insult to proper coffee beans everywhere," he said flatly. Hikari nodded in absolute agreement, as did Stitch.

"I will put up with almost anything you do, or have Stitch do when you're bored, if you're willing to share your coffee."

"Deal," said Reborn immediately. He could already tell he was going to enjoy teaching his new student.

* * *

Reborn was both annoyed...and elated.

He was annoyed because someone had the audacity to die his hair blue, and elated because it had been years since someone had successfully gotten him with a prank.

It meant he might actually have a challenge on his hands, which meant he could open up on his delightful bag of tricks. It almost made up for the fact they were staying in the hotel for a few days while Jumba and Verde rebuilt the house they blew up.

Considering this happened regularly, and their real labs were kept in the spaceship that Jumba had which could be relocated off world if the experiment was _too_ explosive (the Grand Councilwoman was clear that they couldn't leave the Milky Way, but that was a small price to pay...drove astronomers nuts trying to explain the random explosions on Mars though...) that wasn't easily found, they had the local construction companies on speed dial and got a special discount.

The fact he could enter space and even go to the moon and see it for himself had been a major selling point and one of the reasons why Hayato never left. He absolutely _loved_ his new life in Namimori and would happily give up his old one as part of the mafia in a heartbeat.

Jumba liked him because Hayato had a proper 'appreciation' for his creations and the fact Hayato actually had a brain. It was rare for the mad scientist to come up with anything that Hayato couldn't pick up after more than a week or two.

(Hayato was officially in charge of the household budget, which he didn't mind too much.)

Seeing a smirking Stitch, he knew he had his culprit.

"Just out of curiosity is that partner of yours bulletproof?" asked Reborn blandly.

"Bulletproof, fireproof, Flame resistant unless it's mine, has a super computer for a brain, can play records simply by placing his claw on them and opening his mouth...don't ask how we found that out though Stitch is now a die-hard Elvis fan, and is a chaos-magnet when loaded up on enough coffee," said Hikari without hesitation.

Reborn looked at Stitch who 'tried' for innocent and smirked.

"You're now officially my new favorite target practice," he said bluntly, before bringing out Leon. He had found Hikari wasn't joking about Jumba taking the more 'modern' weapons found on Earth as "something that needed to be upgraded", though out of respect for the house rules he kept all the lethal armaments out of the house and mostly restricted to off-world labs, because several of his lesser guns had gotten a few tweaks added to them without his permission or knowledge.

As such he was stuck to using Leon, as Hikari had banned the 'special' experimentation on all partners since that was the very thing that got Jumba in trouble in the first place.

He still didn't know what to think of Pleakley, though he could already tell he would have to do a lot of revision on what the alien knew of human customs.

He could live with the cross dressing, since he was a fan of cosplay himself and had gone as a woman before.

The sad thing was that Pleakley was the best 'female' role model his student had at the moment, and he was technically a GUY.


	85. A Scrya's Sky Chapter One

When Nana first noticed the oddity of her son's linker core, she originally dismissed it. Perhaps he was on the verge of needing magic lessons.

Except she noticed with growing concern the excessive clumsiness, the fact his grades suddenly dropped to below average levels, the difficulty comprehending such basic material when he was a bright child before (it ran in her family), and the fact that his magic now felt stilted and constrained.

When Iemitsu came to visit two years later, she knew something was horribly wrong with her son.

During the visit, it almost felt like Iemitsu was using magic to reinforce something on her son. It was rough, and very poorly done, but Nana could feel the magic in the house.

It was enough that when he left, she took Tsuna straight to Mid-Childa for a visit with doctors who specialized in young mages who had issues with their cores.

What they found had her go cold with absolute fury.

He had put a _seal_ on her son's linker core. It was poorly done and it wasn't working properly, and if it remained on there it would stunt his growth exponentially.

Nana had a choice to make. She could either stay on Earth and have a long overdue chat with her husband, or she could take her son and go live with her sister and her family. She knew her elder sister had a son about the same age as her Tsuna.

Then she remembered how miserable Tsuna was on Earth, and how irritating the neighbors were about the fact Iemitsu was never around.

The clan did move around a lot, but Tsuna would be much happier there. At least _they_ didn't discriminate against women who's husbands were never around. It was normal considering how often someone would leave for months at a time doing research digs for forgotten history.

Nana went to eye level with her son.

"Tsu-kun, how would you like to meet your Aunt Myra and her son Yuuno?" she asked gently. "You might have to leave your school friends behind for a while, but I'm sure you'd get along great with your cousins."

Tsuna tilted his head.

"I have cousins?"

"There's a whole bunch of them. We won't be able to visit home for some time, and I still expect you to stay on top of your school work, but I know the clan would love to meet you."

"What about Papa? Mama is always sad because he's gone...how will he find us?" asked Tsuna concerned.

Nana hugged her son.

"I know Tsu-kun... but I think we'd both be happier staying with aunt Myra for a while. We could use a vacation," said Nana with a straight face.

Besides, she needed time to remember most of her lessons on how to use magic to show Iemitsu _exactly_ how she felt about him putting such a danger and unstable seal on _her_ son.

She would not make it quick or painless. Nice and "friendly" town was what Iemitsu had told her...there was something wrong with Namimori if the people in it were so quick to turn on her innocent son. And the other housewives, they were all quite vicious and cruel with their remarks.

* * *

Myra was smitten with her nephew within an hour of meeting him. Yuuno was rather shy, but once he realized that Tsuna wasn't any better they soon warmed up to each other. Myra's other half was on a dig sanctioned by the TSAB, and wouldn't be around for some time. She was more than happy to let her sister stay until she sorted things out.

Either way, Iemitsu was going to be in for one nasty shock when Nana went back to earth...Myra was rather bloodthirsty he had sealed Tsuna's linker core like that, and with such a sloppy one too!

"Hi... I'm Tsuna," said the timid boy behind Nana's leg.

The other boy, with familiar sandy colored hair, smiled shyly back.

"I'm Yuuno."

Seeing a ball nearby, Tsuna hesitantly asked... "Would you like to play?"

The two women smiled indulgently as the boys played... Tsuna was still clumsy as he adjusted to having that horrible seal removed from his core.

The two cousins quickly bonded, and Tsuna would follow the slightly more confident Yuuno like a baby duck. It was ridiculously adorable and the sisters couldn't resist taking multiple photos.

 _Third POV_

He didn't know what to think of his cousin at first. However once Tsuna got used to him, he found the boy an avid listener and eager to please. It was clear Tsuna had been far more lonely than Yuuno was...he at least had his younger cousins there to protect him and play with him. Tsuna had been almost completely isolated shortly after his core was sealed.

However once Tsuna got used to having people who were actually _nice_ and supportive around, it was amazing how quickly he adapted. He was an avid learner and raptly listened to Yuuno showing him how to use support magic.

Then came the day Tsuna was allowed to join in one of the many digs that the clan did to preserve and record history for the TSAB. They were one of the few allowed into the really restricted ruins, like anything that contained bits and pieces of Al-Hazard.

He carefully began to brush aside the dirt, and occasionally brought out a small chisel. The area he had been given was more or less empty...the adults had scoured it before he arrived. But he would be happy finding even a tiny button or bauble. The older mages had patted him on the head with an indulgent smile and told him that if he found out anything he was welcome to keep it... unless it was too dangerous.

Since it was his first time excavating, Yuuno opted to help him instead of joining the adults.

Tsuna suddenly perked up as he uncovered something shiny. Considering he had been carefully removing dirt and the odd bit of stubborn rock, anything shiny might be worth keeping.

Yuuno was right next to him as he managed to uncover what looked like an odd rock. It was shiny within, yes, but it also vaguely looked like an oddly shaped broken pacifier. As Tsuna picked it up out of the dirt, the bottom half broke off completely leaving a smooth orb in his small hand.

It almost felt like a device, except it didn't _feel_ like any device Yuuno had used before. Even the adults couldn't figure it out.

Still, the thing seemed to be either broken or sealed, and as far as they could tell it was relatively harmless...so Tsuna was allowed to keep his prize.

It was only when Tsuna went to practice the limited magic he had learned that they realized how _wrong_ they were to believe the device was 'useless'.

Tsuna went to practice a basic spell meant to increase accuracy of a simple magic bullet. It was so basic that any child could use it. It also helped him learn the basic mathematical formulas needed to cast magic...a fact that _still_ baffled him. After all, who had ever heard of casting magic with _MATH?_

Tsuna _jumped_ when the odd bauble on the necklace Yuuno had helped him to make for it suddenly spoke.

He wasn't the only one to become very startled when the device seemed to latch onto Tsuna's magical circle, turning the form into something completely different. It wouldn't be for at least two months before they managed to identify the circle as something very similar to the Belkan style, with bits and pieces thrown in that was very difficult to identify.

Yuuno could only assume it had something to do with the origin of the bauble itself.

 _ **~Synchronizing... Sync complete. What are your orders, Master?~**_

Tsuna looked at Yuuno helplessly.

"Try asking for it's name," said Yuuno. He was clearly baffled by this turn of events.

"Um... what's your name?"

 _ **~My Designation is Soaring Sky, Master.~**_

Yuuno nudged his cousin. Tsuna was quick to catch on, remembering the brief lesson he was given when coming across unidentified devices during excavation.

"What is your general purpose, Soaring Sky?"

 _ **~Primary purpose is Collection, Retrieval and Sealing, Master. Warning... Knight programs have been severely damaged... new Knights are required.~**_

"Knights?" said Tsuna in alarm.

 _ **~Master's core is predisposed towards knight protocol.~**_

As if that answer explained everything he would need to know.

"I have a headache," said Yuuno. Tsuna nodded in agreement...they seriously needed an adult.

* * *

 _At the church, two and a half months later..._

Carim looked at the bauble, or rather Soaring Sky as it proudly declared itself, then at the two boys before her.

"You're saying this woke up during a standard magic exercise and is claiming Tsuna-kun here can use the 'knight protocol'?" she asked.

"We figured since it used a Belkan style circle, and they had a tendency towards calling themselves 'knights', the church was the best place to ask," said Yuuno sensibly.

Carim had to admit, it was a valid point. If anyone knew how to deal with this, they were likely the first place people would consider. Didn't make her headache any better though.

"First let's have a technician give Soaring Sky a _proper_ work over now that it's active," she said tiredly.

What they found had them both amazed and slightly appalled.

Soaring Sky was _not_ a true Belkan device. Not even close. Whoever had made it had taken something very magical...and highly parasitic...and had turned it _into_ a device using the Belkan methods. The whole 'knight protocol' apparently had preset conditions added into it, so that only certain people could access it.

It was very reminiscent to the Tome of the Night Sky in several ways, at least before the corruption. However the original bauble was clearly a bastardized version of the cartridge system that systematically drained and stored magic from the user's linker core... from what the scan revealed, it was highly likely there would be some very severe side effects to having the original version. Sure, it would be quite powerful, but the drain would be crippling and almost certainly life threatening.

In short, it was _not_ something any sane adult would consent to be around a child. Especially one that recently had a seal removed on their linker core.

The only reason Carim didn't immediately confiscate the device... fully bonded or not... was because the original purpose of the bauble had apparently short circuited. It could drain the user, but whoever had turned the horrid thing into a device had added so many fail safes that it wouldn't be life-threatening.

She was still adding several limiters to the thing that could only be removed under the most dire of circumstances.

The knight protocol was loosely based off the records they had for another device which had been long lost. The Tome of the Night Sky. However unlike the tome, Soaring Sky couldn't _permanently_ sustain the knights saved to the databanks. However a minor revival _was_ possible...but the cost was great. Apparently the bauble had a feature that allowed such a powerful and terrifying magic.

In order to use it, the user had to sacrifice themselves to the bauble, pouring every bit of their energy into it to resurrect any knights stored. It would allow them to return, but the odds of surviving it were so low it wasn't worth mentioning.

Carim was almost terrified to meet whoever created the flawed original version, if a damaged one was like this. Hell, she pitied anyone who got their hands on an _undamaged_ version.

That being said, Soaring Sky wasn't a danger to it's user unless Tsuna tried to use the more...intensive...abilities. And from what they could tell of the Knight Protocol, it was more of a symbiotic relationship that allowed the magic of the Knights to feed back safely into the device and into Tsuna. And in return Tsuna's own magic would give back a stabilizing factor into their own core, fixing up all the little cracks and fissures that generally acculmulated when using magic for prolonged periods.

Tsuna's magic was almost akin to a sort of spiritual glue, and once it fully seeped into a user's core it created an unbreakable bond.

It was no wonder only those predisposed to that sort of magic could access the knight protocol. If anything, all it did was add a few extra perks to something that happened naturally.

"Well, let's see what spells are preloaded onto this thing. Either way you might as well get started thinking up a barrier jacket," said Carim.

Tsuna perked up at that.

* * *

 _Some time later..._

Tsuna rather liked his new outfit. Admittedly it did look like something out of a mafia movie, but the thing he loved the most were the gauntlets.

Soaring Sky would split into two 'halves' and became a pair of metal gauntlets, because no matter how hard he tried he could never fully get the hang of using a staff to cast magic. It was easier to use his hands, for some reason.

The most baffling thing was the fact that Tsuna was apparently able to use time magic. Speeding it up, slowing it down, temporarily _stopping_ time (which was the most taxing for obvious reasons)... Once he learned the general feel of the spell in question he was able to quickly master it.

This was the _official_ reason Tsuna visited the church so often. The unofficial reason was that Carim was rightly concerned about Soaring Sky and wanted to keep an eye on the adorable child that was able to worm his way into anyone's hearts if they spent any real length of time in his presence.

Tsuna had a natural affinity for certain magics, and none at all for others.

The thing that he wanted the most, however, was a familiar. He had seen the bonds that other familiars had with the mages who created them, and he desperately wanted a friend whenever Yuuno was unavailable. He didn't want a mindless familiar though...he wanted one with it's own personality and could argue against him from time to time.

Yuuno looked at the tiny bunny in Tsuna's arms. He had to admit, a rabbit for a familiar suited his cousin far too well.

"What's their name?"

Tsuna beamed at him.

"Her name is Xiao Wu," he said proudly. "She reminded me of a character I remember reading in a Chinese manwha and I couldn't resist naming her that. It was either than or Shiroyuki, but I think Xiao Wu suits her better.

The bunny squirmed out of his hold and turned into her human form. It was clear Tsuna had given her more magic than most would, because she had a distinct personality that was far more bossy than anything Tsuna would come up with on his own. She was almost like a really bossy big sister type, from what Yuuno could tell.

Xiao Wu had long brown hair that was held in a braid that went down her back. She wore cutesy clothing that made it obvious he had introduced his new familiar to Carim and their mothers before showing her to Yuuno...mostly because he was well aware of Carim's cosplay addiction. She was the main reason Tsuna's barrier jacket looked like something out of a mafia movie after all. She also had a cute little purse that looked like a rabbit on her side and her ears poked out of her hair making her look even more adorable.

All in all, she looked like the unassuming girl-next-door that would have men eating out of the palm of her hands by being cute.

She suited Tsuna perfectly in that regard...even Yuuno had to admit his cousin could be beyond adorable when he turned those puppy dog eyes on you and he was a _guy_.

And then he found out what Xiao Wu's specialty was, and suddenly she went from 'harmless bunny' to 'devil in disguise'.

Somehow Tsuna had found a rabbit who was perfectly capable of dismembering grown men barehanded and specialised in close quarters combat. The way she used that braid of hers was downright _terrifying_...and yet Yuuno felt comforted because he knew that at least now Tsuna would have someone to protect him from the large number of perverts out there that wanted to take advantage of him.


	86. Free Spirits Chapter Two

Fon was both impressed and disgusted.

He was impressed because while Tsuna evidently had enough skills to detect his presence (and didn't bother to call him on it) when he was training, he was disgusted by the living conditions the boy had to endure on a daily basis.

On the outside it looked perfectly acceptable, but if one bothered to look properly they'd see the rot festering beneath the surface.

The mother was either Sky-addled (two guesses who the culprit behind that was, and the first one didn't count), brain damaged or quite likely had sunken so deep in her depression that her general attitude had slipped into concealed apathy.

She openly disparaged her child, telling him directly that she didn't care if he couldn't do better so long as he was 'happy'. As if it was acceptable to admit she had given up on him so long as he could pretend everything was fine on the outside to fool the sheep that made up the town.

Yes, she fed and clothed him and gave him a small allowance, but that was only because it was _expected_ of her and to maintain the fake image she had going.

And the less said about his schooling situation the better. The teachers, those that didn't discreetly harass or belittle him, had long since given up on the boy and simply looked the other way. The other students had picked up on the adult's attitude years ago and treated him accordingly...it was only fear of Kiyo's retribution if things got too out of hand that kept everything from escalating to disasterous levels.

All in all, Fon was openly appalled at the sheer lack of apathy towards the young Sky and silently commended the boy for finding a safe outlet to attempt an escape from his own personal hell. Courting the most dangerous student in his school was a far safer alternative compared to some of the other things he could have tried, and if he was successful then he would at least have _one_ person that was actually on his side that would never take the rumors as 'fact'.

Fon knew better than to nudge Kiyo closer to the boy. It was far more likely to have the opposite effect of what he wanted.

Instead he decided to approach Tsuna himself.

"How would you like to learn martial arts? And I mean the real kind that are suited to your body type, as opposed to the 'sports play' you mentioned before."

Seeing the boy openly perk up at that, he knew he made the right choice.

"Really?"

The hope in his voice was almost painful to hear, but then again if the adults had already given up on the Sky it was only natural he'd latch on to the first person who was interested in properly teaching him.

"I hope you don't mind small children. If I'm going to teach you then I would like to bring my apprentice here."

"I don't mind kids. They're not as mean as the older ones," said Tsuna.

It only took one meeting with I-Pin before the boy practically took to her as a little sister he needed to spoil rotten with love. Even if he did have a rather vexing habit of scooping Fon up as well, he didn't mind. The boy's Sky was gentle, but not cloying and never tried to force a bond like so many others had in the past.

He did not snuggle, regardless of what Tsuna would say on the matter. Either way it didn't stop him from wishing Tsuna was strong enough to be _his_ Sky as well as potentially being strong enough to handle Kiyo.

He could dream though.

* * *

It was during a particularly tricky sparring session when Kiyohime accidentally hit Tsuna hard enough to make his heart stop. Needless to say the stricken expression on her face was only made worse when Fon was quick to start using CPR on the boy the second he realized what happened.

No one was prepared for the sheer _outpouring_ of pure Sky flames that came off Tsuna. Or for them to latch onto not just Hibari's Cloud and Mist to the point she was trying not to purr...but also to Fon's barely controlled Storm.

Fon had to stumble a bit when he realized that Tsuna's Sky _was_ strong enough to contain his own Storm flames when even Luce had failed. To be fair, she already had a Storm which complicated things, but this was the first time he had felt a proper bond with a Sky without it feeling like they were trying to force things.

Come to think of it, Tsuna could have been discreetly courting him with those chocolates he often made for them laced with his Sky. It was such a small addition that it slipped right past Fon's defenses.

Tsuna gasped for air, though once he calmed down there was an odd expression on his face as he tentatively checked his flames.

"...I haven't felt this clear headed and warm since that old man poked me in the head with his finger when I was five," said Tsuna.

"Old man?" repeated Fon, Guardian instincts on overdrive considering how new the bond was.

"Iemitsu brought an old man home when I was five that he made me call grandpa. I was playing outside when Mama was out getting something to make for dinner and fell, and then I heard arguing inside the house. A little bit later the old man poked me on the head and I blacked out...when I woke up I felt like my brain was put into a cold slush and my body felt really sluggish," said Tsuna frowning.

All true, but he already knew the Ninth had put a seal on him at Iemitsu's request.

Fon looked angry enough that his eyes were now red...as in Storm red.

"Someone put a _flame seal_ on you when you were five? Is Iemitsu a complete idiot?!" said Fon irate.

"What is a flame seal?" asked Kiyo, eyes narrowed.

"Putting a flame seal on a child is basically like shoving all their potential into a box and locking away the key. Their coordination would be shot, their mental abilities would be highly stunted and they would become a mess. They would be completely helpless and unable to defend themselves. And when you add in Sky Attraction...well, Tsuna was turned into a bully magnet from the get-go," said Fon flatly.

"...You're telling me the entire reason he's called 'No-Good' Tsuna is because his natural abilities were surpressed since he was _five_?" said Kiyo horrified.

Fon said nothing, but his silence was pretty damning.

"In any event, with that seal off chances are his ability to fight will have a higher chance of improving much faster...and that's before we get into Flame training. You will have to learn to share him though," said Fon.

Hearing Kiyohime growl, Fon smiled at her.

"I meant Skies tend to draw others to them as 'protectors'. I highly doubt Tsuna would go to all this trouble to court you as a female if he wanted another for a girlfriend," said Fon.

Tsuna made a face.

"I prefer Kiyo-chan over any other girl in the school because she doesn't let something as ridiculous as traditional gender roles keep her from being who she really is. I mean I'm perfectly fine with the fact she could easily kick my ass and likely has next to no training in the more 'traditional' female roles like cooking or cleaning," said Tsuna.

Fon's ire with Iemitsu was tempered a bit as he chuckled.

He found it amusing that the traditional roles of a man and woman had been flipped with these two. While Kiyo was a good warrior and provider, she was not very good with small children and taking care of the little details that made a house a _home_. And while Tsuna _was_ improving with his combat ability, he prefered to be the peacekeeper and was very good with children as well as basic chores, never mind being an excellent cook.

Fon about _melted_ when Tsuna found a recipe to make a special mapo tofu that would reduce him to tears from the spice content while still maintaining the same flavoring that his favorite food had.

If Tsuna hadn't harmonized with him by accident with the seal gone, he would have stuck around purely to get more of that!

(As a result Fon did not break Tsuna of the habit he had of cuddling with him like he did I-Pin. It was a small price he would happily pay for such good food he didn't have to buy that he knew wouldn't be poisoned.)

* * *

Fon was rather unhappy, but it was the yearly meeting with the Arcobaleno and the others would hunt him down without hesitation if he missed it.

At least Tsuna packed enough food for him to enjoy to tide him over, and to share with a few of the others.

As it was, he suspected the Vongola's Hyper Intuition at work because several of the treats he was bringing seemed catered to specific people...like the fresh strawberry milk for Viper or the brownies with little rivers of espresso and caramel in them for Reborn.

Fon fully intended to bribe Skull into helping Tsuna ease into the fact he would inevitably be drawn into the mafia because he was Flame Active. If anyone could relate to being thrown in headfirst from civilian to psuedo criminal, it was Skull who had a similar crash course. At the very least Tsuna wouldn't bully the inverted Cloud like some would and Skull had always loved Japan so it evened out.

Predictably, it only took one bite before the food was quickly devoured and the other Arcobaleno were secret converts to whoever made the treats. Even Lal and Viper dropped their usual masks to turn into puddles of goo after finishing theirs, whereas Reborn had hoarded all the brownies the first chance he had.

It was a high compliment to Tsuna's ability to cook that Reborn would shoot first, rather than even consider sharing.

Fon had to fight the urge to show how smug he was about the whole thing, because none of them even noticed the little tidbits of Sky flame in the food.

Instead he kept his silence to the fact he knew who made the treats and that he got to eat such delicious things all the time, catered to his personal preferences.

Tsuna certainly had no end of volunteers when he cooked.

It took a day or two before Fon could quietly corner Skull away from the others.

"Skull, I have a favor to ask. And before you say anything please remember you don't need to put up a front around me."

Skull dropped the usual blustering and looked at Fon seriously.

"What do you need sempai?" asked Skull somewhat cheerfully. Fon was always nice to him.

"You remember those treats I brought with me? The ones everyone practically devoured in a few hours once they had some? Well the one who made them had a seal on their Active flames that was recently removed, and they live in a civilian neighborhood. Now since I am an Active part of the Triads, I can't keep an eye on them...but you're a freelancer and this way you can honestly claim you're doing me a favor to turn down any demands Reborn makes of you for a year or two," said Fon.

Skull perked up at that. Reborn and the others had been so stingy about the food Fon brought with him that he barely got any.

"I have it on good authority the mystery chef is always looking for volunteers, and I can switch off with you so that you can get a break to travel the world for a bit," offered Fon.

"Where's this guy live?"

"Namimori, Japan, and he's courting my granddaughter as his potential girlfriend and Cloud so you should be safe from being pressured to join his Sky," said Fon.

Skull paused at that.

"The kid is a Sky and you're not trying to pressure him to join a Family?" said Skull slowly.

"Technically he's already _part_ of one, but considering the don of the family and his own father put that seal on his flames, one could reasonably argue that they cast him out shortly after he went active," said Fon.

He had checked the lawbooks the Vindice had about Flame Actives, and if necessary he could claim that the Vongola cast Tsuna out years ago through Iemitsu's actions. If Tsuna were to join another famiglia, they would be hard pressed to have any claims over him at all.

A seal like the one Tsuna had on his own was generally used to _cast out_ Flame Actives that went rogue and were causing too much trouble, and considering the time frame one could argue that Nono had done it to avoid any conflicts regarding succession as his own sons were still alive at the time. The fact Tsuna could literally count the number of days his father was around him only made it harder for the Vongola to claim the boy.

It did not help their case that the family was entirely undefended, as Fon had checked repeatedly for watchers or other plants to keep the two safe. It was as if Iemitsu expected anonymity to keep his wife and son protected from the darker elements of the underworld.

He was certainly self-centered and foolish enough for it.

Skull seemed to think the offer over.

"So basically you want me to give the kid a crash course on the underworld and all the little things that no one ever told me, as well as act as taste-testing dummy for his creations and as a bodyguard," said Skull.

"You also have a ready defense against any demands from Reborn, since he isn't likely to bother you while you're helping me. And if he does try to press the issue I would be more than happy to sort him out," said Fon smiling.

Fon was one of the few who _could_ make Reborn back down.

"I'm in," said Skull grinning. "I hope he likes Oodako."

"Tsuna is a sweet kid and is very gentle. Odds are the worst you'll have to suffer is being cuddled," said Fon. "That, and he did express an interest in learning how to drive a bike so you can have fun teaching him how."

Skull perked up at that.

(It took him all of a week to settle in and he didn't regret it one bit. He bonded to Tsuna within a month, which made Hibari crankly until she realized Skull wasn't trying to take her spot as Tsuna's Cloud guardian. Skull was just a secondary element.)


	87. Blood of the Midnight World Chapter One

**Vampire Tsuna~!**

* * *

Reborn had to stare at the red on his hands in disbelief and no little shock.

Anemia his ass...how the hell did that incompetent idiot Iemitsu miss that his wife was a _vampire_?!

He looked at the unconscious form of his new student. Tsuna had caught him off guard when he suddenly lunged at him like that... he had been too surprised to stop the brat from drinking his blood.

Reborn carefully managed to get the kid back into the house, and then started a proper investigation. For the most part his file claimed he was a clumsy, lackluster student. Likely from the seal Timoteo had placed on him when he was five.

He was expecting a difficult student, especially since the kid was raised civilian after years of bullying.

It took him five minutes to find the fridge full of blood bags, all of them close to expiration. He found several other clues of the fact his student was a full vampire.

Clues Iemitsu should have noticed as well...then again he had heard that Lal tended to handle most of the supernatural agents, so there was a chance he had no idea it existed. Though if that was the case then he was a bigger idiot than Reborn had always believed him to be.

It wasn't until close to dinner that Tsuna finally woke up, which made Reborn frown. He had never heard of a vampire to crash _that_ hard after a feeding.

Tsuna stared at him with wide, unhappy eyes.

"What did you do that for? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep my other half in check on a good day?" he asked upset.

"I was trying to bring out your Dying Will. What I want to know is why the hell you went straight for my blood rather than your last regret. And vampire or not, there is no reason for you to have slept this long after a feeding," said Reborn flatly.

On the plus side with the influx of fresh blood the seal was basically toast. He could feel Tsuna's flames from where he was unfettered... Timoteo clearly hadn't picked up on the fact Nana was a vampire either if he only used enough flame to contain _human_ energies.

Tsuna squirmed a bit under his gaze.

"I don't drink fresh. I never have," he admitted.

Reborn stared at him.

"Are you telling me this was the first time you've properly feed from a live human?" he asked incredulous.

Tsuna couldn't look him in the eye.

Reborn could not believe this.

"Tsuna, do you have a hunting ground, or designated hunting spot?"

"Mama couldn't get one when her husband made her move here. Since she's only been here for less than twenty years I've had to make due with blood bags," said Tsuna tonelessly. "All the grounds have established claims long before I was even born."

Reborn cursed Iemitsu under his breath. Tsuna's claim had some validity to it...he knew that certain clans tended to stake permanent claim in human cities and made it difficult for newcomers to get any spots for several decades at least.

And Namimori was an established grounds...he knew for a fact that Fon's clan policed the supernatural side of things in the area.

"Does your stomach ache as if it's constantly hungry, even when you've eaten your fill? The blood bags barely sate it, especially the older they are, right?" said Reborn tiredly, rubbing his face.

Tsuna looked at him in shock.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Tsuna... it's not the actual _blood_ that fills a vampire. It's just the medium. Blood acts as a conduit for the _life force_ within it. When a vampire feeds from a human, he's absorbing a small part of the human's life force. Not enough to do damage...so long as you don't drain too much of it the human can recover within a few days. Almost like donating it really," said Reborn exasperated. "Frankly I'm amazed you've managed to keep from going into a complete blood rage if you've never properly fed before. Blood bags are only supposed to be a _temporary_ measure at best."

"I'm sorry," blurted Tsuna. "I didn't mean to feed from you! It's just all my instincts went haywire after you hit me with that bullet and I couldn't control myself!"

"Considering you've never fed before, it's fine. You managed to hold yourself back from doing any actual damage. Though this definitely complicates things for a bit..."

He was going to have to insure Tsuna had a blood donor that he could feed from directly. On the plus side at least he didn't have to feel any guilt about dragging a civilian into the mafia.

Vampires tended to thrive in leadership positions.

Tsuna was still mortified.

* * *

Tsuna managed to hide his eyes from the rest of the class. He knew that vampires tended to show their true selves after a proper feeding. He never had to worry about it before though.

For the next few days he made do with his usual blood bags...but after feeding from Reborn he found it falling far flat. It was only the fact he couldn't hunt properly that kept him from getting more of it.

However less than a week after Reborn showed up, another Italian appeared. Oddly, he had a Japanese name. Was he a half-blood?

That confusion turned to understanding when Hayato started barking about becoming tenth.

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"I'm calling bullshit."

Hayato paused and looked at him oddly.

"Excuse me?"

"It's obvious Reborn called you here, likely for more than one reason. Besides, if you really _were_ eligible for the position it's far more likely you would have been dragged in to the main house before now, rather than send Reborn all the way from Europe to Japan to train a civilian," said Tsuna crossing his arms annoyed. "So please, can we dispense with the whole production and get to the point already?"

Reborn had to frown at that. He wasn't expecting this much sass from the boy.

Hayato tried to keep with the whole charade, but the second Tsuna actually _moved_ far too fast for any human to possibly accomplish, he understood what the kid had meant when he said Reborn had called him in for more than one reason.

"You're a vampire?!" said Hayato in shock, dropping one of his bombs by accident.

Tsuna was a whirlwind as he put out all the fuses before Hayato blew his fool self up with his own weapon.

"Reborn, what's the real reason you called him here?" asked Tsuna to the hidden figure nearby.

Reborn came out of hiding... it was pointless to hide from a vampire. He likely heard Reborn's heartbeat or something, never mind Vongola Hyper Intuition.

"Since it's impossible for you to gain a spot in the established feeding grounds, I found you a donor. The fact he also has several qualities that would make him valuable as a Right Hand was bonus."

Storms were a dime a dozen but people with the knack for the job as a Right Hand, especially for the Vongola, that was was another story.

"If I had known you wanted a donor, I wouldn't have come. No one would want my blood," blurted Hayato.

Reborn looked at Hayato sharply.

He was quite surprised when Hayato let a pair of ears out that were the same silver color as his hair, and a tail that was distinctly wolf-like.

"I'm a half-breed. No vampire would want to feed from me," he explained.

"Actually I know for a fact that several packs in town donate to keep the vampire factions from causing problems. It's part of the agreement they made with the Hibari decades ago when it became available," said Tsuna. "There's also a few who act as blood donors to their vampire lovers. So long as it's consensual the Hibari don't get involved."

Hayato looked incredulous.

"You have no problem with feeding from me?" he said in disbelief. No one wanted a half-breed like him.

"I'm at the lowest rung of the pecking order in town. Only a select few even know I'm a vampire at all because I've been feeding only from blood bags for years. There's no way I could get into any of the hunting grounds and hunting outside the permitted ones would result in a short, painful end very quickly for me," said Tsuna. "So really, the 'disgrace' of feeding from a half-wolf wouldn't affect me in the slightest either way."

Tsuna could see hope spark in Hayato's eyes.

"Besides...it's not that unusual for a vampire to keep a wolf for a bodyguard, even if half the legends humans make up about us are full of shit," said Tsuna with amusement.

"Tenth! I'll follow you forever!" said Hayato with fervor.

Tsuna gently yanked on his ear.

"None of that. I'm not confirmed yet, and I would rather have a trusted friend guarding me than a rabid follower who doesn't listen to what I have to say," said Tsuna firmly.

Hayato whined a bit, but accepted the reprimand. It was far gentler than any he had before.

It took little time to get him settled into the Sawada household. Nana didn't even ask why he was there...she just accepted him without question.

Hayato did his best not to flinch when Tsuna fed directly from his wrist.

There was a sort of warm aura about him that grew stronger after he finished. His eyes glowed a bloody red that was hued with an amber orange, and there was _power_ behind his gaze.

Tsuna might be weak now...but once his body adjusted to properly getting the right nutrients, Hayato had no doubts that the tiny teen in front of him would topple entire _continents_.

He wasn't expecting Tsuna to cuddle against him though. He was almost nuzzling the side of Hayato's neck, though without any hint of fangs present. It was...nice. Almost like Tsuna was scent marking him.

 _A few days later..._

"Hey cutie...wanna be my donor?" asked one of the female vampires in the school. She flashed a bit of leg and it was clear she what _else_ she was offering in exchange for a bit of blood.

Hayato scoffed. He had seen her type before, and the second they found out he was a half-breed they often changed their turn far too quickly. Or they treated him as disposable.

"No thanks. I already have a blood partner," said Hayato loudly enough for the entire class to hear.

Dead silence.

"Don't be ridiculous. How could you have found a partner so fast and not have it known?" she replied. "There's no need to play hard to get, you know."

She adjusted the skirt a bit to show some more leg.

It was then that Tsuna walked in and saw the display. He had been using the bathroom, so he had no idea what was going on.

However the scent in the air said volumes, and he grew pissed.

One moment the girl was trying to entice Hayato to act as her blood partner...the next she found herself struggling to breath as Tsuna had his hand gripped very tightly around her neck in a death hold.

"Keep your fangs to yourself, Saeko. He's _mine_ ," snarled Tsuna, eyes glowing red. "Unless you want to take it up with Hibari-sempai over a _claimed_ partner."

Dead silence as shock descended in the room. Most of those in there were of the supernatural sect, as they had different lunch schedules from the humans. Mostly to avoid any issues from those who couldn't handle their unusual diets.

Tsuna usually skipped lunch, so most just considered him 'aware, but not involved'.

Finding out he was a vampire was a great shock to many.

"Boss, I can handle this," said Hayato.

"Hayato, show her your wrist," said Tsuna calmly, not letting the girl go.

Hayato looked confused, but undid the bracelet he had put around the bite marks Tsuna had inflicted. Tsuna had mostly healed them up, but he had left an indentation that was clear to everyone.

He was starting to figure out there was a reason for that.

Saeko went pale at the sight of it...or from the lack of air.

The silence in the class grew oppressive as the revelation Hayato had been claimed by _Tsuna_ of all people sunk in. It didn't take much for the news to spread of Tsuna's status or the fact Hayato had bonded with him to filter through the school rumor mill.

Hibari called them in briefly to confirm the claim and that it was consensual before ignoring it.

Reborn was _very_ pleased by the display. Clearly his new student had more of a backbone than he had been told. It was just that he had developed a general level of apathy to deal with the cards life had dealt him before now.

* * *

There was a silver haired puppy in the living room. Closer inspection revealed it to be a young wolf, rather than a domestic hound.

Tsuna grinned as he gently whistled, and the puppy cautiously went to his lap. It soon turned into a veritable puddle of goo as Tsuna attacked his ears. The tail went absolutely nuts when Tsuna brought out a brush and started to groom the pup's fur, getting out all sorts of knots.

Reborn snorted at the sight. On the plus side, Tsuna had definitely secured Hayato's loyalty, and his devotion to the vampire was only growing every day that passed.

It wouldn't take much for it to tip over into a full Harmony bond, once Hayato went active.

Reborn had to nod in approval at the food Nana placed in front of Hayato without a word. There was a lot of iron and protein rich foods to help with any potential bloodloss. Clearly she had been raised among vampires who knew the right way to care for a blood partner.

Hayato still couldn't believe how quickly they had arranged Tsuna's room so that he had his own bed and personal space without actually doing more than switching the single to a bunk bed and a second desk.

Not that he used the second bed. Tsuna was apparently very much a cuddler, and he had a weird habit of sneaking into Hayato's bed at night while half asleep. He had woken up more than once with the tiny teen curled up against him without a second thought.


	88. Blood of the Midnight World Chapter Two

Hayato was in the special arena for the supernatural to get out their aggressive tendencies when it happened. A group of big, brawlers stalked up to him with a leer. It was pretty clear what they wanted and he wasn't interested in the least.

"What's this? An uppity little half-breed walking around all cocky because he's whoring himself out to a vamp?" sneered the lead wolf.

Hayato bristled, but kept his silence.

He had dealt with assholes like this ever since he ran away from home and nothing pissed them off more than just ignoring them. Besides, it would make them look worse to the other wolves if Hayato kept his mouth shut.

He had no idea someone else was watching the exchange...just waiting for the first proper excuse they could use against these idiots.

The older wolf kept goading Hayato, growing angrier and angrier the more Hayato ignored his taunts. It was clear he was picking a fight purely because he thought the smaller wolf was weak and packless.

The other packs watched in silence, waiting for the whole thing to tip over into a brawl. Though there was a slight modicum of respect for Hayato for enduring even half the comments the older wolf made about him.

It wasn't until the wolf went to slap him that he finally got a reaction. It just wasn't the one he was expecting.

Tsuna had the wolf's wrist in a death grip with a 'pleasant' smile on his face.

"You did well, Hayato. I'm proud of you for holding your ground until he snapped," said Tsuna pleased.

Hayato _barely_ kept his tail from wagging at the praise.

"Now as for you... I do believe a _reprimand_ is in order for attempting to goad my blood partner into a fight, much less trying to physically attack him," purred Tsuna darkly.

It was one thing if Hayato had instigated the fight after being goaded. That the older wolf attacked first when that failed meant Tsuna didn't have to be 'kind'. If anything allowing such an attack to go unpunished was a signal that Tsuna (and by extension Hayato) were weak.

Tsuna broke the wolf's arm in three places in rapid succession, before kicking him into a wall. Considering he had only been attempting to goad a newcomer and then resorted to violence first, minor injuries like that were acceptable as punishment.

Hayato noticed the way that the other packs nodded in approval at the way Tsuna handled the older wolf, and how he had only stepped in _after_ Hayato was about to be assaulted for standing his ground. He wasn't the only one confused.

"Tsuna, a word," said Reborn.

"Hmm?"

"Care to explain why the other wolves are giving you looks of respect after that display, rather than go after you?" asked Reborn.

"I'm a traditionalist. The supernatural sect in Japan has very long memories, so it has a rather high concentration of them," shrugged Tsuna.

Reborn was still very confused on that point.

Tsuna sighed.

"Traditionalists follow the old ways that have stood the test of time and humanity. Progressives are generally from newer clans and are always causing no end of problems with those that hate us because they draw so much attention," said Tsuna. "Mama's blood sire is a traditionalist and once I started showing all the signs of being like her I spent two years with them. They made sure to give me a proper grounding in our culture, which made controlling my instincts a lot easier. They also made certain I had access to the blood bank supply, since we couldn't hunt in Namimori."

Well that explained how Tsuna was able to partially feed, when no one was even aware of what he was until Reborn showed up.

"What's the difference between a traditionalist and a progressive?" asked Hayato curious.

Tsuna thought of how to describe it, before he hit upon the perfect example.

"Well what's the difference between an old school mafioso like Reborn and someone like that arrogant bastard I just beat up?" he countered.

Hayato's eyes light up with understanding, as did Reborn's.

"You're saying a traditionalist is more in lines with how the older mafioso who follow the old ways before flames became such a big deal, whereas a progressive is like a new famiglia still learning their place in the pecking order?" said Reborn.

"Close enough," said Tsuna.

Reborn mentally made another check for the boss category. The Vongola were deeply rooted with the 'traditionalist' sect as Tsuna called them, so having a boss that instinctively followed the old ways would put him in the good books of a lot of people.

"Why did you step in back there though? I could have handled him."

Tsuna sighed.

"Hayato, just because you _might_ have been able to handle him doesn't mean you should have to. Besides, several of the comments he made challenged my authority as an 'alpha' to you. If I had let you handle that entirely alone it would have told the packs that I didn't care if you got your ass kicked. By stepping in when he went after you first, I made it clear that I consider you part of my pack and therefor worthy of personal protection," lectured Tsuna gently.

Hayato stared at him, as a fledgling warmth grew in his chest.

"You... you consider me pack?"

Tsuna looked him dead in the eye.

"I wouldn't have considered you for a blood partner if I didn't. Besides, taking care of you like family reflects better on us both. Did you really think I kept you around as a source of blood?" he asked.

From the way Hayato averted his eyes, that was a yes. Tsuna pulled his friend into a hug.

"Why did you wait so long to step in though? Some of those comments would have had even me pissed off," asked Reborn.

"It looks better for Hayato if I allowed him to fight his own battles. By letting it go on so long that arrogant Alpha lost a lot of face, and it showed that I believe Hayato is strong enough to hold his own without me protecting him all the time. Because Hayato kept his mouth shut, he earned a lot of points with the other packs because it showed he knows when _not_ to fight," said Tsuna.

Reborn was satisfied with that answer.

"I have the distinct feeling a lot of things are going to be changed when you take over as boss," said Reborn pleased.

Why couldn't Dino had been this much fun? Tsuna had all the right instincts, it was just his environment made it difficult for his natural abilities to shine.

* * *

The second Lambo showed up, Reborn briefly worried Tsuna would turn him into another source of blood.

He found his worries were highly unfounded... Tsuna not only adored small children (thus keeping the cow brat out of his hair) but so did his mother.

Tsuna had looked exasperated when he realized Reborn's line of thought.

"Reborn, he's _five_."

"Yes, and? Didn't stop the Bovino to send him after me of all people on a kill mission."

Tsuna's eyes went hard at that, before they shifted. Reborn had the distinct feeling the Bovino family don was about to get chewed out royally.

"Blood partners can't be under the age of consent in whatever country you come from. Mostly because quite a few times it translates into bed partners... and because if you're not careful you can easily turn them. Child vampires are a nightmare to deal with if they're turned, rather than born that way. There's a reason the traditionalists put a firm ban on them centuries ago and tend to rip apart anyone stupid enough to make one."

Reborn cocked his head a little.

"How so?"

"They hunt indiscriminately and make the humans hate us even more than normal. Can you imagine Lambo as a vampire, with how bratty he is as a human?"

Reborn followed that train of thought, before openly cringing.

Lambo was a pain in the ass as a human, with how he liked to throw low-level explosives around and shoot guns like they were toys. He didn't even understand the reality of the fact he had basically been sent on a suicide mission.

If he was turned... yeah, the only thing that Reborn could use to describe what would happen would be a bloodbath.

"There are a few child vampires that were turned, but they're extremely rare and generally had the impulses beaten into submission by an older one. It's why vampires are particularly careful to kill any pedophiles they feed from if found."

Reborn could guess why. If a pedophile were turned, they wouldn't think twice about doing the same to a child they could 'enjoy' for centuries, regardless of the damage it would do if the kid broke free. Besides, as a grown man forcibly cursed into a two-year-old body, he had a particular empathy for the victims and a sincere hatred of the bastards who explioted them.

Not that he didn't hate them before, but now it was more of a personal hatred.

Nana seemed particularly pleased with Lambo's presence in the house. Though Reborn had to frown when he noticed the light fang mark on the brat's left wrist three days after he arrived.

"I thought you said you don't feed from children?"

"We don't. Marking them as 'protected' is another story. It's basically a way to warn off other vampires and the supernatural that he's under our personal protection and that if anyone wants to go after him they will have to come through us first," said Tsuna. "It's deep enough to leave a mark that can be healed over later, but not so deep to make it look like we're feeding from him."

"Is this why you usually go for the wrist rather than the neck?"

Tsuna made a face.

"I hate Hollywood. Only idiots go for the neck... wrist marks are easier to hide and explain. No proper vampire goes for the jugular...it's far too easy to slip and make such a mess that draws all sorts of scavengers to you, never mind that it makes you look like such a freaking noob at being a vampire," said Tsuna pinching his nose. "Unless you believe the _Godfather_ franchise perfectly demonstrates what the mafia is actually about."

Reborn silently conceded his point.

"Anyway wrist marks like the one Lambo now has states he's protected by someone who actually knows what they're doing while looking like a simple childhood scar that's easily explained away. Not exactly something that draws the humans in with fire and pitchforks."

If Reborn hadn't know the boy was unmarked beforehand, he never would have noticed it in the first place.

However there were a few downsides to the fact Tsuna was a 'traditionalist'.

Honestly, Reborn should have seen it coming. It was obvious Tsuna had wrapped up his entire mental health over something he considered 'guidelines' at best that when something caused him to _break_ said guidelines he would react very badly indeed.

It had started out so simple too. A Rain 'legacy' as they were collectively known he had been keeping an eye on as a potential Left Hand broke his arm and provided an opening for Tsuna to work with. Naturally the boy gravitated towards the only active Sky in the area, and Tsuna handled it well enough.

That's when things went wrong as the unspoken predisposition towards depression that most Rains had kicked in, in the absolute worst possible way. The boy attempted to kill himself _over a broken arm_ , and his adorable little student dove to save him

Reborn had to stare at the fact that his student had just broken up into hundreds of crows. He would have expected bats.

What he didn't expect was the panic attack Tsuna had that night.

Hayato looked baffled and had no idea how to calm Tsuna down.

"Is it really so bad you turned into crows?" asked Reborn.

"Grandma said not to show any major powers in front of others. It makes the lesser vampires nervous when they realize that a _royal_ vampire is living in the same city as them, since we have a tendency to rule over them with an iron fist. We can get away with it in Europe, especially the old country, but we're not supposed to show off unless absolutely necessary in places like Asia and America," said Tsuna miserably. "She's going to be so angry with me!"

"Who's your grandmother?" asked Reborn.

"Elizabeth Batheroy. Contrary to popular belief, Vlad the Impaler wasn't actually a vampire in the least. He was just a human king who left a big enough impression that a human writer decided to use him as a basis for a book," said Tsuna without hesitation.

Reborn wasn't the only one to stare at him.

"Elizabeth Batheroy, as in the Blood Countess? A woman who _literally_ bathed in the blood of young women and has a recorded death count of at _least_ several hundred and was only imprisoned when she switched to the nobility at the behest of her female lover? Who died imprisoned in her own castle?" said Reborn flatly. _"That_ Elizabeth Batheroy?"

Tsuna perked up at that.

"You've heard of grandma?"

Reborn stared at him.

"Tsuna, damn near _anyone_ who's studied European history knows about her. She's known as one of the worst mass murderers in European history."

"Considering during the time frame pedophilia was an accepted practice among the nobility, never mind incest, is it really that big a deal?" asked Tsuna. He didn't get why Reborn seemed so disturbed by this information. "I mean they only put her on house arrest for a hundred and fifty years because she was drawing too much attention from the human nobility."

"The fact you can say something like that with a straight face and _not_ get why this is important information disturbs me," said Reborn bluntly. "Anyway, the crows? Wait, house arrest?"

Tsuna shrugged.

"Grandma got severely scolded and she had to help write the traditions that most of us follow today. Like the part about 'no turning or using children under thirteen as blood partners' rule. She only really settled down when she had a few children, though Mama is the youngest and the only one still active. The rest are either gone or went into hibernation for several centuries."

"So Batheroy was a vampire from the start?"

"She had the blood in her, but it awakened _really_ late and no one is sure if her 'bad habit' started before or after she got into bathing in blood," admitted Tsuna. "She doesn't really do it much anymore with how loose girls are with their favor these days. I think she mostly imports from China when she does get the urge."

Reborn had a headache, as did Hayato.

"How would she feel about you having a werewolf for a blood partner?"

"Considering the circumstances the only thing she would care about is the fact that he's extremely loyal and efficient. If he can prove himself a good fighter without being so loud about it, then she'd give her approval once she got to know him."

"Seriously?" said Hayato in shock.

Tsuna snorted.

"Grandma very much prefers her own gender and only had kids to get out of house arrest early. Even if she was nobility, her flings with other women were frowned upon by the human nobles since she didn't really give a damn about who knew it. Bear in mind that with the church the way it was back then, being a lesbian was an almost certain way to get branded 'evil' and killed off if you were human."

"...Point," said Hayato.

"So...why crows?"

"They're actually Yatagarasu. Vampires from the really old, really powerful bloodlines have all sorts of abilities that the newer ones don't. Grandma was really amused when she found out I had somehow managed to use my familiar summoning ability to turn myself into one," admitted Tsuna. "For some reason though, I could never get the hang of summoning my familiar at all, despite having the predisposition for it. She said it just means that I have a really strong one that I need to prove myself to first before it'll show itself."

"What's a yatagarasu?" asked Hayato.

"A three legged crow from Japanese mythology. Said to inhabit and represent the sun. It's a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation and is known to provide guidance. Basically a minor kami of sorts with heavy ties to Amaterasu," said Tsuna promptly.

It took a lot of willpower for Hayato _not_ to look at Reborn, because that sounded suspiciously like him in many ways. Just not the crow part.

Tsuna only _really_ calmed down about the matter when a few days later (when Takeshi was allowed to return to school by his father who was less than happy with his behavior) the Rain quickly attached himself to Tsuna's side.

Apparently Tsuyoshi was well aware of the old customs, because once they were alone in the restaurant he offered to become Tsuna's vassal and if necessary a blood partner.

Takeshi had some supernatural blood in him, but not enough to be allowed into the same areas Tsuna and Hayato frequented. Being Tsuna's vassal changed that, even if there was a high chance Tsuna could turn him by accident while feeding. After all, Takeshi was _mostly_ human.


	89. The Military Pack Chapter One

Colonello was looking for someone, or more specifically something.

Which was why he almost completely missed it when he was tackled to the ground...and then completely slobbered over.

"Come on Luna, I just had these cleaned!" he complained with good nature.

Luna, which was the name of the wolf pup, whined before sitting down on the ground.

"There, there girl. I know you didn't mean anything by it," said Colonello gently. Luna perked up and barked. "That's a good girl. And good job! You almost caught me off guard that time!"

Luna wagged her tail happily, before turning into a very petite teenager with tawny hair that matched the wolf's fur, amber eyes that seemed to glow from an internal light, and a collar around her neck with the phases of the moon printed on the leather and a tag that made it clear she was part of Mafia Land's security forces under Colonello's direct supervision.

"Really?" she said hopefully.

"Really," said Colonello, inwardly cursing the idiots who had nearly destroyed her confidence that she would work her tail off for any sort of praise. She was still a puppy after all.

Luna was still a young thing who was barely half grown in her wolf form. She had neck length hair that was kept in a pony tail that was generally messy because she rarely bothered to do more than brush it. She had a light tank top, a pair of pants with camoflage print, and combat boots. She was clearly built more for speed than power, but she had all the grace of a dancer.

Oddly enough when people looked at her, they were more inclined to think 'harmless bunny' rather than a wolf cub.

"I'm starving, how about you Puppy?" he asked.

Luna nodded eagerly, and let Colonello get on her shoulder. She stayed in 'human' form when she left the training areas because there were far too many idiots who would happily kill a wolf, even if she was 'claimed'.

Colonello couldn't help but reminscence about the day he had found a terrified little puppy hiding in the 'back' of Mafia Land where he generally spent most of his time.

 _Several months ago..._

Colonello could tell right away there was an 'intruder' in the forest. He spent so much time there that he could generally sense when something new was around.

Ironic, considering he was fully human and Lal wasn't as 'in-tune' with her natural instincts despite being a wolf shifter. It had taken him _months_ before she relaxed enough to let her wolf side out and trust him enough to crash in her natural form.

Colonello rather liked wolves, which was why he had no issue with dating one.

It took him an hour to pinpoint the source of the disturbance, and what he found there was so far off what he was expecting it was almost funny...if the scene before him wasn't so sad.

It was a wolf pup, or at least a very young one. The thing was barely half-grown at best. It was also highly skittish if the way it whimpered the second it saw him was any indication.

Colonello made sure she saw him put his gun down and in full view of the puppy where she could keep an eye on it. He also put away his knife next to it.

The pup whimpered at the sight of it, curling into herself even more.

"Easy puppy. I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently, in a very soothing way.

The puppy shrunk into herself whenever he tried to come close. The thing was very skinny either from lack of food or because it was a runt. He couldn't see any immediate injuries though, so perhaps it had wandered onto the island by mistake and had gotten spooked by the sheer number of humans around.

Since he could tell the poor thing was too scared to come out right away, he decided to leave some food out for the night...but not before he made sure she saw that it was 'safe' to eat by having a few bites himself.

If she was a shifter like he suspected, she would at least understand that he wasn't trying to poison her.

For the next week and a half, he would leave food out and make sure she knew it was safe to eat.

Slowly but surely, he was able to gain enough trust that she finally came out to eat _before_ he tried it. She wouldn't let him touch her, but at least he knew she was eating something.

She was still far too skinny for his liking though.

Colonello slowly, carefully made his way towards the puppy, speaking only in soothing tones and keeping his Rain Flames away from her. Something told him she wasn't ready for them...not yet.

"Easy puppy. I like wolves...you don't need to fear me," he said gently, allowing his voice to make the same tones he had heard Lal use around other wolves.

She had trained him in how to speak 'wolf', or at least close enough that he could get his point across, when he had expressed an interest. She had called him a fool, mostly because she couldn't understand why a human cared so much about a wolf-shifter to the point he would be willing to mate with her as her partner.

While it was possible for wolves and humans to have children, there was always a chance that the human could turn on the wolf and kill them both. Or for them to inadvertantly lead hunters to their door. Most hunters despised hybrids even more than full-blooded shifters, simply because it meant that a human dared to mate with a wolf.

Colonello didn't care about the species difference. He loved Lal both as a human and as a wolf.

So he was pleasantly surprised and happy when the puppy allowed him to pet her ears. For a moment he felt as though had made some progress, before she retreated back to the cave. Still, it was a major start in the right direction.

However getting her out of that cave was his priority, and it was clear she was still rightly terrified of humans. So he decided to call in reinforcements.

" _Idiot student, if this is another attempt to get me on a date..."_ started Lal irate.

"I have a puppy here, one that I've been trying to coax out of a cave for the better part of two months. I need your help," he said bluntly.

" _What sort of puppy?"_ asked Lal seriously.

"A half-grown pup. She's scared out of her wits, but I've been making sure she's been fed and she's starting to trust me... however I think I'd make more progress with expert help. I think she lost her pack to Hunters," said Colonello.

It made sense and would explain her behavior. The sad thing was that it was a far too common story.

" _Colonello I've been working my ass off because my idiot boss just lost his wife and his daughter is missing. We're working overtime trying to find out what the hell happened and why his family was targeted,"_ said Lal.

"Look could you please come over? I just want her to start trusting me so I can help her," said Colonello frustrated. "Even if it's just a day or two...anything would help."

" _...I'll try to be there by tomorrow. We're mostly spinning our wheels on dead ends anyway."_

Colonello had no idea of the sheer headache that he was about to unleash...not only on him, but also on Lal.

Seeing Lal was always a pleasure, but he was more focused on the wolf pup. She was still far too skittish to trust him easily.

An older wolf, on the other hand...

Lal took one look at the pup and was rather pleased at the fact she looked like she was at least starting to put on weight. Somehow she knew Colonello had been trying to spoil her rotten with food. He always was a softie when it came to wolves, especially pups.

Shifting took a lot out of her, as the curse didn't like it. But it was necessary to allow the pup to know what she was. The curse would confuse her senses otherwise.

The puppy whined, but cautiously came out to sniff her.

Lal pinned her down and started nudging her with her nose. The puppy wasn't feral which was a relief. It didn't take much to nudge the female towards Colonello, who gently ruffled her fur and just doted on her with love and affection.

Lal shifted back, and felt her bones creak. She missed being able to switch back and forth without side effects.

"There, there, bambina. We're not going to hurt you. It's safe to shift," she said soothingly.

The pup looked confused. You could see it in her eyes. So Lal tried another language.

It wasn't until she hit Japanese that she had success.

The puppy whined, before she slowly, cautiously took human form.

Which really made Lal wonder what the hell the poor girl had gone through if a teenager still looked like a _pup_.

It wasn't until she got a good look at the girl's face that she became furious.

"Tsukiyo Sawada?" she asked carefully.

The girl winced.

"Lal?" asked Colonello.

"You mean to tell me that one of the worst wolf-haters in the fucking mafia married a shifter and was too blind to realize it?!" said Lal irate.

"What?!" said Colonello.

Tsukiyo whimpered at the tone, which forced Lal to calm down. She was still pissed off though.

"Easy, puppy. What happened?" said Colonello gently.

" _Mama...Mama was killed by a hunter. I don't know how he found us, but I came home after a run and he was there with Mama on the floor bleeding. I ran before he saw me, but I could smell that Mama was gone,"_ said Tsukiyo, tears streaming down her face. Colonello gently stroked her hair and she just broke down in sobs.

"Why did you run away? Shouldn't one of the local packs take you in?" asked Lal.

Tsukiyo flinched at the thought.

" _They said I was broken. Mama was the only pack I had,"_ she said upset. _"All the other packs said there was something wrong with me and refused to let me anywhere near them... they wouldn't help anyway since Mama was killed by a hunter...it would risk the human coming after them next."_

Lal quietly cursed under her breath. It sounded like the Namimori dens were too closed-minded for the girl to join them, or they smelled something wrong with her.

Or quite possibly they _knew_ who the girl's father was (or what the fact he was half-Italian) and decided that made her unacceptable as part of their pack, leaving the poor girl out in the cold.

Either way her job just got easier and harder. At least she wouldn't have to track the girl down, but now she had to hide where she was and _what_ she was. No doubt Iemitsu would do something incredibly stupid if he found out where his daughter was.

Like try to marry her off to one of his 'preferred' famiglias who coincidentally despised wolves as much as that braying jackass did.

Lal looked at Colonello. Colonello looked back, and a silent agreement was reached.

The girl would have to stay hidden on Mafia Land until she was old enough that she could have a full say in her life without Iemitsu being able to play the father card to make her follow what he wanted.

Good thing Colonello already had a fondness for wolves.

 _Back to the present_

"Papa?" asked Luna. She had no issue with taking a slightly 'new' name to hide who she was. It wasn't like Iemitsu had ever bothered to get to know her.

That being said, Colonello had _zero_ issues with the fact his little puppy called him Papa openly. Nope, none at all. Especially when he got to see how Lal blushed so cutely when Luna turned those big wide eyes and called her Madre in the same breath like it was natural.

The fact Lal tended to mother hen the girl didn't help either. Then again she had to cut ties with her pack when Iemitsu took over CEDEF for their own protection. She _hated_ being a lone wolf and being part of the Arcobaleno had barely helped.

Being able to act as the mother-wolf to a pup who had lost her pack was something she privately enjoyed. Especially since little Luna took after her like a duckling.

"Just thinking of how I found my adorable little puppy," said Colonello, ruffling her hair.

Luna pouted, but even she knew she was still considered a puppy by wolf standards. It didn't help that she appeared half-grown in her wolf form either.

Something seemed to block her full growth, and despite their efforts it was difficult to figure out what was causing it.

One thing they did find out for sure though...it wasn't something natural. Lal suspected Iemitsu, in his infinite stupidity, had done something to her when she was younger to cause it.

Luna happily cuddled against Colonello, who crashed against his pup as if she was his own personal pillow.

She loved her pack, even if most viewed it as strange.

* * *

Luna was out getting food and generally keeping an eye out for trouble when her nose caught the scent.

It was the scent of a wolf pup in distress, and a woman who smelled far too human.

Without thinking twice about it, she followed the scent and found a silver haired pup being almost _dragged_ by the woman without a second thought.

Memories of the hunter that killed her mother came to the forefront.

She would not let the woman hurt the pup who was incapacitated for some reason any more than she already had.

She barrelled past the two, grabbed the hand of the other pup and hauled ass as far away from the woman as she could.

It took a few moments for the fact the human wasn't nearby before the other pup realized she was gone.

"Are you alright?" asked Luna concerned.

"Yeah... I always have that reaction around my sister," he said miserably.

Luna stopped and stared at him.

"You can't be full blood siblings... Is she your half sister?" she asked confused.

The other pup stared at her in shock.

"How the hell do you know she's not my full blood sister?"

"...I can't tell you. Not here, where others will hear. If you want to know, then come to the back where Colonello trains people and tests those who fail the initial test of the island."

Seeing she had his full interest, she wasn't surprised in the least when the other pup came to the back of the island later that night.

So the shock on his face when she easily shifted into a wolf confused her.

"You... You're like me. I thought I was the only one..." he said in disbelief.

 _~Don't be ridiculous. There are wolf packs all over the world. Have you never been part of a pack before?~_ she asked confused.

"I...I can hear you? Even though you're in wolf form?"

She shifted back, thoroughly bewildered.

"Have you never come across a wolf-shifter before?" she asked baffled.

He shook his head.

"What's the Smoking Bomb brat doing here, kora?" demanded Colonello.

"He's a wolf-shifter. I can smell it on him," said Luna.

Colonello almost dropped from shock.

"He's a shifter? But his father is one of the anti-wolf bastards!" said Colonello.

Like Iemitsu, went unsaid but silently implied.

The silver haired teen looked overwhelmed. So much so that his human form slipped, revealing a beautiful silver furred wolf with green eyes.

Luna eagerly went back to her wolf form, before nudging him lightly with her nose in an almost playful manner.

Colonello smirked, before tossing a ball lightly nearby. It took a little coaxing, before both pups were playing with it.

He didn't need to be a mind reader to guess that his pack was about to grow by one. It might take a little while, but there was no way his little Luna would allow another pup to suffer the pain of not having a proper pack. Especially since she was so lonely without having anyone to play with.


	90. Queen of the Seas Chapter One

When the local bandit boss threatened Makino because Shanks wasn't around, Luffy saw red. It wasn't bodily harm that the bastards were threatening her with, all because she was trying to protect Luffy's life. No, that monster was threatening something far worse than a beating for a woman.

Half-remembered memories of a life before this came to mind. Of being strong enough to take down monsters or even convert them to their side mid-battle.

Luffy reached for that warm furry feeling that had always made her feel safe...and _pulled_. She would not let these monsters hurt Makino-nee.

Instead of fire though, there was a wave of _force_. It almost felt like pure will manifest, and she aimed every bit of it at the bandits. Memories of her previous life helped her to turn what could have been a blunt weapon into something far closer to a sword.

Everywhere around her the bandits...and a few odd villagers who were a bit too close...collapsed on the ground. As if gravity had suddenly asserted itself in greater pressures than before just around them.

"Luffy!"

Luffy turned to find Shanks, unaware that her eyes were going a brilliant orange the color of the sunset.

"Shanks!"

Shanks looked around at the scene before him, but his main focus was on Luffy. A kid he had taken for a fluffy bunny...with not a lot of sense. A fluffy bunny with Conqueror's Haki, and enough skill to awaken it at _seven_.

"What the hell happened? I thought something was going on when no one was there to great us at port, but this..."

Luffy scowled at the bandits.

"They threatened Makino-nee. They were going to hurt her really, really badly," said Luffy.

Makino couldn't quite meet Shanks eyes, but considering the reaction of the other villagers he could make a general guess what the bandits had threatened Makino with. Apparently Luffy was smarter than she looked if she knew how bad it was.

What concerned Shanks was the fact that Luffy had unlocked how to use Haki...and Conqueror's Haki at that. The fact she also had an instinctive ability to _control_ it to the point it didn't knock everyone out or reach past the general area of the square was nothing short of astounding. It had taken Roger three months before Shanks was allowed to use his outside of training.

The glowing sunset eyes though... that was something that only happened in the rarest of circumstances. It had only happened to Shanks _twice_ in his entire life, and both times had been during events so dire that it was more than life or death at stake.

The first time had been when the Marines were going to arrest him shortly after Roger's execution... when his very freedom was at stake during the bloodbath that happened immediately after.

The last time had been shortly before he became officially acknowledged as a Yonko.

Shanks bundled up Luffy and took her to the bar, where Makino fussed over her. She wasn't any worse from wear...just really sleepy. She curled up against Shanks lap without a care in the world.

Shanks looked at Benn. A silent agreement passed between them... there was no way they could leave as they had discussed. Not when Luffy had unlocked that so young. There was no telling the damage she could do untrained.

 _Three months later_

The feared red haired Yonko of the Grand Line twitched sporadically. How the hell was he supposed to stand up against _that_?!

Luffy was staring at him with her big brown eyes and her face was twitching...she looked every bit the cute, innocent little bunny he had always thought her to be ever since he met. She looked so adorable it was taking every ounce of will he had not to cave into her every whim.

Nearby Shanks could sense his crew torn between laughing their ass off at their big bad captain caving to a seven year old, or joining him.

Shanks caved first, and Luffy cheered.

"I'm almost terrified to find out how far she'll go as a pirate...if she wasn't so fluffy anyway," said Benn snorting.

"I'm going to be Pirate King!" said Luffy.

"Only boys can be kings," said Shanks absently. "You can still be the little bunny princess though."

Luffy scowled at him, before kicking him very hard in the shin. With armament Haki active.

Shanks swore, before he glared at her.

"Girls can be strong too! I can still kick your ass!" said Luffy.

"Girls shouldn't swear!" said Shanks scolding her, giving her a noogie.

Luffy tried to bite him, but Shanks avoided it with ease. He had far too much practice.

Shanks shared a look with Benn. It was time, not that he was happy about it. It was simply too dangerous to take Luffy with them.

Luffy seemed to sense something was different about today, because she drooped.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked. It wasn't a question.

"We've spent too long here. If we don't go back a bunch of people will get ideas and cause trouble... or worse we'd draw too much attention on the village and you," said Shanks.

You could _feel_ Luffy's sadness, even if they kept a blank face. Shanks had to fight the urge to stay, it was that bad. Luffy had a way of growing on you to the point that you would follow her without hesitation.

It was like Conqueror's Haki radiated off her like an aura...much like it had Roger.

Shanks didn't want to leave, but he had to.

He took off his precious hat and put it on Luffy's head, startling the kid.

"When you become a great pirate, come find me on the Grand Line. You can give it back to me there," said Shanks.

"It's okay. Everyone leaves...it's something I've learned to deal with," said Luffy tiredly.

It broke Shanks' heart to hear her say that without hesitation.

"Who left you?" he asked.

"My father left me with gramps. Gramps left and said he would be back, but he never did. Now you're leaving too," said Luffy sadly.

Shanks looked at Benn helplessly.

"Luffy, do you know what a den den mushi is?" asked Benn.

She tilted her head.

"Isn't that the funny snail that talks?"

Shanks caught on to what Benn was hinting at.

Parting with one of their den den mushi that connected to the _Red Force_ was a good way to prove Shanks wasn't just abandoning her. It was a very expensive item, but for someone like Luffy, it was nothing. Especially if it meant that he could leave without regretting it after.

"You promise to call me?" asked Luffy, turning those big brown eyes on Shanks.

"Have I ever lied to you directly?" asked Shanks.

Luffy shook her head.

"Pirates aren't supposed to be nice people, but you are anyway," she said.

Shanks' lip twitched upward. He ruffled her hair as they started boarding. He could see her eyes welling up with tears.

He made sure to give her one last hug before getting on the ship, and turned away before she saw the fact he was close to tears as well. He had no doubts someone like Luffy would make it far. She reminded him too much of his old captain...the Pirate King Gol D. Roger himself...when he was alive.

She was still his little Bunny Princess (as he would forever think of her) though.

Something that would get him in a _lot_ of hot water with his favorite little rabbit years later, when they finally saw each other again.

* * *

Luffy stared at the angry little spitfire in front of her, and the only thing she could think of once Garp had basically dumped them in the woods together was...

"Xanxus?"

Ace stumbled from walking away from her, before turning to look at her properly. Even with the straw hat on her head, those eyes were unmistakable.

"Bunny trash?" he asked carefully. Luffy kicked him in the shin.

"I am not a bunny!"

Ace snorted.

"So even in this world you're still a fluffy brat," said Ace satisfied. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"You're the first one I've found," said Luffy, pouting at the fact that even in this life she was still considered 'fluffy'.

"Have you unlocked them yet? Your Flames I mean," asked Ace.

Luffy showed off the small ball of fire. It wasn't much, but it was better than what she could do when they first woke up.

Ace's grin was terrifying...if you weren't used to Xanxus that is.

"Bunny trash, we're going to get you up to Quality standards this time if it kills me."

Luffy didn't argue.

"I'll get Gramps to teach me those weird marine techniques. We're going to need all the advantage we can get when we head to the Grand Line later, if Shanks was any indication."

"He give you that hat?" asked Ace.

Luffy nodded, before pulling out a den den mushi.

Ace snorted. The bunny had learned from the best when it came to emotional blackmail.

It was only when they realized they still had to make it out the forest that they went back to the task at hand.

Luffy suddenly hugged Ace.

"I'm glad you're here, Ace-nii," she said.

Ace blushed, but said nothing. The bunny had no idea the effect she had on people.

That being said they kept up the ruse Ace couldn't stand her for a bit longer. No need to alert Garp what they were really planning.

Luffy and Ace could only feel relief when they found another familiar face half a year later. During that time Luffy had managed to trick Garp into teaching her the six techniques...which Ace quickly copied on the sly as well...and they had managed to at least get to a point they could hover with their flames.

For some reason it was rather difficult to train them, because most of the time it switched to Haki first.

His name was Sabo and he was part of the nobles that lived on the island. But he found their behavior so disgusting that he wanted nothing to do with them.

However he took _one_ look at Luffy before he beamed widely.

Luffy looked at him with disbelief, before an even wider smile appeared on her face.

"Dino-nii!"

"Tsu-chan!" said Sabo, hugging the stuffing out of her. He paused when he realized how 'squishy' she was.

Luffy grinned at him and pulled her face, making it stretch far more than it rightly should.

"I accidentally ate the Gum Gum fruit when Shanks visited about two years ago."

"Only you, little sister, could have that sort of luck," said Sabo exasperated.

"Have you figured out how to use flames yet, Bucking Horse?"

Sabo looked at Ace for a moment before he asked... "Xanxus?"

"Trash," he said back with a smirk, eyes glinting in challenge.

"Anyone..."

"Other than Xanxus and you, I haven't found anyone," said Luffy.

"In that case, no I haven't. I had no idea they were even here."

"Seems to translate to Haki first. Only comes out at great need," rumbled Ace.

Sabo perked up at that.

"On an unrelated note, the bunny seems to have become more scatterbrained and devious since she arrived. She managed to con a Yonko out of a snail," said Ace with great amusement. "She also has a marine hero wrapped around her fingers."

"Who?" asked Sabo with interest.

"She conned Shanks out of a den den mushi and she has Garp wrapped around her fingers to the point he'll teach her damn near anything," said Ace smugly.

Sabo cackled and wrapped his arms around Luffy, who pouted.

"I'm not scatterbrained."

"You're meat obsessed and you're still scrawny as hell. I don't know how you look that small when you eat more than you ever did in our last lives," countered Ace without hesitation. But he ruffled Luffy's hair fondly.

It didn't take much for the trio to become nigh inseparable as 'brothers'. Luffy hated the fact that female pirates had to go through so much crap before ANYONE took them seriously and long before puberty hit decided to hide her gender. As far as anyone needed to know, Monkey D. Luffy was a boy.

Garp certainly didn't care, though Makino despaired because she had so much fun putting Luffy into the cutest little dresses... and now thanks to Ace and Sabo the adorable little girl was swiftly turning into a total tomboy.


	91. Broken and Mended Chapter One

The day Viper met Hadrian, the Mist had absolutely no idea of the curveball life was about to throw them.

The man before him was odorous, fat as hell and had a massive temper. But more importantly he owed Viper enough money that the Mist was fully prepared to make an example of the bastard to warn others not to try and screw them over.

After the fat pig tried to negotiate a payment plan, Viper lost patience and simply killed him. It was abundantly clear the fool had no intention of honoring the loan Viper had 'generously' given him, never mind the interest rates. And with the ironclad contract Viper had made the pig sign, the Vindice wouldn't interfere.

Viper was about to leave the area when he heard it. The last thin they needed was a witness giving his description to the cops. What the Mist expected and what they found would change their lives forever.

It was a child, an orphan by the looks of it. He had messy black hair, had bruises on top of bruises, wore what could only be conisdered rags that were far too big for his tiny malnourished frame and had a pair of beautiful green eyes behind broken frames.

But it was the Flames that caught and held Viper's attention.

He hid himself and observed the child. It was hard to tell age with him, but he couldn't be younger than five at the most.

"Uncle Vernon?" he asked tentatively, poking at the cooling corpse.

This brat with ridiculously pure Sky flames was that pig's _nephew_?

Viper couldn't help but feel incredulous as the mere possibility. They knew for a fact the pig was completely flameless. He lived in _Surrey_ , for money's sake!

The child observed the body, before his attention suddenly focused on something deeper in the alley. To Viper's shock, the child looked _right at him._

"Your uncle is dead. The fool tried to cheat me out of the money he owed me, and I was more than generous when it came to waiting," said Viper bluntly. He didn't _like_ children.

"Uncle Vernon is dead?" said the boy.

There were no tears, which didn't surprise Viper in the least. Vernon wasn't exactly _likeable_ to begin with, hence why he failed to get a loan with the more...friendly...options and had to resort to someone like them.

"What's your name?" asked Viper. He needed information, especially with a child with such pure flames.

"Freak, but I'm supposed to go by Harry at school," said the boy tonelessly. "Uncle Vernon wanted me to buy something from the scary people for him, since there are too many police nearby."

Any remorse at killing the pig...not that Viper had any, but still... died at hearing that. The fool was sitting on a literal _goldmine_ for the underworld and he was stupid enough to treat the child as an errand boy for illegal goods? He could have almost named his price if the child meant that little to him, especially once his flame was known.

Well, Vernon's loss was going to be Viper's gain. It wasn't like the kid would be able to harmonize with them after all, and it was hardly human trafficking considering the child's condition. Odds are the more established famiglias would _praise_ Viper for saving such a young, moldable Sky for them to use.

Viper was not expecting to harmonize with the kid shortly after removing from the area to a safe house he had nearby a week later. The boy was skittish as hell, was meek and subservient, and fully expected Viper to deprive him of food and treat him as little more than a barely tolerated servant.

If Vernon hadn't pissed him off by borrowing money and then trying to weasel out of repayment, Viper would have killed him for the treatment of the little Sky. And no, it wasn't because his instincts demanded he protect the Sky and everything to do with the fact Viper _despised_ child abusers. It was right up there with why he tended to murder any pedophile stupid enough to try and use his services, no matter how much they would be willing to pay.

Viper felt like someone had hit him with a brick. If this was what Harmony was like, then no wonder any number of Flame users would happily murder it. That being said, his instincts were going haywire because the little Sky was still terrified and he was the _only_ Guardian the boy had.

* * *

 _Harry POV..._

Living with Viper was vastly different from living with his aunt and uncle. For one thing, Viper gave him an actual bed with a real window.

He also gave Harry meals every day, even if he didn't do the chores. It was the best thing he had ever eaten in his short life, and the clothes actually fit him for once! He didn't have to wear Dudley's cast offs anymore.

Life had definitely taken a turn for the better for him.

Which was why Harry was greatly surprised when, one night when he was having a nightmare of the green light again, he found himself bundled up. He was only half awake, but he definitely remembered someone wrapping their arms around him and rubbing his back while speaking soothing words in a language he didn't know yet.

Waking up curled against Viper, arms wrapped so tightly around the older man's waist that it would take a crowbar to remove them, Harry had no idea how to react to the situation.

Vernon and Petunia were always so angry if he woke them up with his nightmares. They told him that a freak like him didn't deserve to wake "good honest folk" with his problems. His aunt had kept him from breakfast more than once because of it.

So the fact Viper was holding him close and letting him curl against him, despite being a very closed off person was enough to make Harry freeze up in shock.

"Go back to sleep brat. It's too early to be up," grumbled Viper, who detested mornings. He wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him closer.

"You... You're not mad?"

"Everyone gets nightmares. It's not something you need to be punished for," said Viper. "Besides, I brought you in here, so it's not like you had any say in the matter."

Harry could feel the tears welling in his eyes as he silently cried. No one had cared before, not like this. And if they did, then they had a tendency to disappear within short order. It hadn't taken long for the people of Surrey to learn how to turn a blind eye to the obvious abuse and neglect of one Harry James Potter.

Which only made things worse because his 'aunt' had even less reason to hold back on his 'punishment' for ever percieved slight. Or for Dudley to decide it was all the excuse he needed to beat the ever living shit out of his smaller cousin.

He eagerly cuddled into Viper's side, basking in the strange protective warmth he provided. That warmth always told Harry he was safe and protected. There wasn't love...yet...but maybe someday.

Then it almost came crashing down. Strange people in robes that Harry knew all too well found them, and he knew they were planning to take him back. They were the reason people disappeared or 'moved' with regularity if they got too close to him and he hated it.

It wasn't fair! He was finally safe from that horrible place and treated like other kids! Why did they insist on taking him back?

Harry wanted to cry, but he clung to Viper's odd outfit instead. The man shielded him as best he could, but someone managed to get the drop on them both.

Neither had seen the greasy haired man coming, but Harry knew one thing for certain. He would not go back. He _refused_ to go back to that place he knew he wasn't wanted.

Viper wasn't the most _open_ of people, but he wasn't deliberately cruel like his 'family'.

Something in him lashed out at the thought of returning to that house. Something violent and almost uncontrolled.

Without understanding how or why, Harry found himself becoming a cloud of smoke black as night and as quiet as death itself.

Shouts of great alarm and fear came from the adults with the funny sticks, and Harry lashed out at anyone who came too close to Viper. Especially greasy, for trying to take him away.

" _The kid's a fucking obscurial! No one said anything about dealing with one of them!"_ shouted one man.

Viper, rather than run away in fear and alarm, calmly walked up to the mass of smoke that was Harry.

" _Bambino_ , it's alright. I'm here," he said soothingly.

He reached upwards, but didn't touch the smoke, not just yet.

The mass hovered near the hand, but did not connect. The strange warmth he felt around Viper seemed to radiate from the man's hand as a calm smile was on his face.

"I know you're afraid. It's a natural reaction to something like this happening," said Viper.

The Mist was putting every ounce of faith he had in the whole "Guardian" bond. That Harry would instinctively avoid hurting his only bonded Element, even if it was only out of survival.

"Count with me, _bambino._ Can you do that? It doesn't have to be out loud, but I want you to count with me."

Harry knew Viper liked money a lot, so much so he was pleased Harry was so good with numbers and calculations. He always gave Harry extra treats for getting it right, or at least close.

"1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. Can you repeat that for me, even if it's in your head, _bambino_?" asked Viper gently.

The mass hovered quietly, but Viper noted that it was shrinking slightly.

"Good boy. Keep repeating those numbers for me _, bambino_ ," said Viper soothingly.

He doubted Harry would know or understand what the Fibonacci series was just yet. The boy was still learning math after all.

Viper could tell Harry was repeating the numbers in his head, because it didn't take much for the mass to return into the form of a shivering little boy who was absolutely terrified of being separated from the only one to have consistently shown any kindness to him.

Harry cuddled into Viper's side as they disappeared, several minutes before more showed up. Viper was not impressed with the response time at all.

"You're... You're not made at me are you? For being a freak?" whispered Harry.

"The only _freaks_ are people who would treat you like a monster when anyone with eyes can see you're still a child. Besides, if you're a freak then so am I," said Viper, creating a teddy bear for Harry to hug.

Harry had yet to see Viper use his Flames before now, so it was only natural he'd be shocked by it.

"I'm a Mist. It means I can create things out of nothing and use illusions. You're not the only one with unique abilities and I'll happily strangle anyone who makes you think having powers is something to be ashamed of," said Viper viciously.

He wasn't entirely sure if it was his Guardian instincts or just the natural inclination of those raising children. He wasn't very good at comforting others... the Mist was too jaded to connect with them normally.

"Can... can you teach me?" asked Harry in a small voice.

Viper gently ruffled the boy's head...Harry had quickly learned to get used to _kind_ touches, as opposed to the beatings he received before. He rather liked the difference, even if Viper was horribly awkward at it.

"We can start later. I'm sure you're starving since those idiots interrupted us getting dinner," said Viper.

Harry blushed as his stomach grumbled, but happily curled into Viper's side when he picked him up. The boy was still far too skinny for Viper's liking and he refused to be considered a bad Guardian for not taking care of his Sky's basic needs.

After that day something changed between the two of them. Viper slowly began to act less like a 'reluctant Guardian' and started acting more like a parent. And the results were stunning... Harry practically blossomed under his teaching and soaked everything up like a sponge.

(Though some would say Harry learned a bit _too_ well from Viper after his reaction to learning he had several vaults worth of actual _gold and silver,_ or the outdated banking system that the wizards employed that was just _begging_ to be exploited by someone who was raised to take advantage of every loophole ruthlessly when it came to making money in large amounts.)

Of course not everything was sunshine and roses. After Harry spontaneously turned into a strange form of mist, Viper found his hands full trying to help the boy learn how to control and contain it.

The black mass was a whirlwind of pure death made intangible. Whatever it touched would end up shredded beyond belief, with very little to stop it. Viper was only partially protected because of the bond with his son (and it had taken a while for that title to firmly root in his mind) and because Harry was highly in tune with his natural instincts, but he quickly made a note to never get on the wrong side of the mass when it was really pissed off.

It took him far too long to get any information on what it was exactly, and that only because of a comment made by the very men who set off the black mass the first time.

What he found had him furious.

Obscurials were 'creatures' created when a magical child became so terrified of their own powers that their magic began to turn in on itself, resulting in a black mass that would rip and shred anything it came into contact with. According to the books, Obscurials _did_ retain some sense of awareness but for the most part they were classed as the highest level of dangerous beasts and were to be killed on sight.

This was because there had yet to be a _single_ instance of an obscurial being rehabilitated to the point their magic stabilized.

Viper could only feel disgust at the sheer level of _idiocy_ the magicals were displaying. It was a miracle that the last KNOWN obscurial was a Credence Barebone, who later turned out to be the bastard son of a pureblood who abandoned his muggle lover when she got pregnant.

These fools knew nothing about Dying Will Flames (which they called Aspects for some ridiculous reason) much less the effect Harmony had on others.

Viper had the suspicion that once Harry had more Guardians, his powers would correct themselves for the most part.

He was not pleased when some random Mist appeared before him and offered him a place among the Strongest Seven. He put those protections around him and Harry for a _reason._

The fidelius was such a useful charm and made it much harder to track his little Sky down...even if he had to get Harry to cast it, which took a while because his magic wasn't quite up to that level of use.


	92. Rising Dragon, Hidden Hammers Chapter 1

**This is a cross between Doulou Dalu (Soul Land) and KHR. It's mostly just Fon and one extra though...I simply couldn't resist when the idea popped into my head!**

* * *

He would never forget the shocked expression on his twin's face when he casually asked during their morning training...

"So how old did you get before you reincarnated?"

Tang San actually _stumbled_ and tripped on nothing when his twin Fon asked him that question.

"What?" he said shocked.

"I said how old were you before you were reincarnated into this life?" repeated Fon, enjoying the expression on his brother's face just a wee bit too much.

Tang San gave him an odd look.

"How do you know I was reincarnated?"

"Because I was. It's not hard to pick up on the fact we both display an unusual degree of maturity and skill for our age, or the fact that we know training methods that are unheard of in this area," said Fon. "Really, I would have thought you would have picked up on it already that you're not alone."

If there was one thing Tang San could appreciate about his slightly younger twin, it was the fact Fon didn't beat around the bush. He was sometimes too blunt, in all honesty.

"...Twenty-five," he admitted. "I stole a scroll teaching a forbidden technique and completed a weapon that hadn't been seen in centuries that was only available to the inner sect, and decided that rather than suffer disgrace I would cast myself off a mountain. I made sure they got back everything that belonged to the clan though."

Fon smiled.

"Eighty, and I died in my sleep. I spent over thirty years cursed to the body of a toddler because some demi-god couldn't be bothered to find a better solution once the main crisis was averted and he had centuries to work on it. I did master over a hundred and eight different styles of martial arts before that though," said Fon.

Most people would have stared at the sheer number of styles, but then again Tang San had always known his twin was a genius like him. Considering the sheer number of hidden weapon techniques he had mastered before his death, he had no room to talk.

"So what now?"

"Considering we awaken our 'Martial Souls' in two years, I was hoping we could spar with each other in the mornings once you're done cultivating," admitted Fon. "It would be nice not to have to scramble to get back to what _we_ consider peak form after we get our spirits. Besides, I've been curious to find out if my abilities remain the same or if I have to alter them to fit what I remember."

If Tang San had been anyone else, he might have balked at the idea of harsh training. They were only four at the moment, after all.

But this was someone who understood just as deeply as his twin that if you wanted to get strong, you had to start early. And children were highly adaptable if you started early enough.

Instead a familiar grin came across Tang San's face when he looked at his twin, and an anticipatory smirk came across Fon's.

"We keep this to ourselves. While our father is particularly strong for the area it's clear whatever caused our mother's death hit him very hard. He clearly doesn't want to stir the pot until we're old enough to defend ourselves from whomever killed her," said Fon.

Tang San nodded in agreement. He hadn't picked up on how strong their father was, just that he was broken from whatever happened to their mother.

He slid into a stance.

"Shall we, brother?" he said calmly.

Fon's answering grin was slightly wild. It was rare he showed his eyes properly, but Tang San could tell his brother was _really_ looking forward to this.

If their father noticed the fact that they looked like they had gotten their asses kicked by someone who knew what they were doing, he said nothing.

It didn't hide the fact both brothers were grinning wildly for days.

It was so nice that they didn't have to hide their true selves from each other, and Tang San had been openly pleased that his twin was not only able to keep up with him, but didn't look remotely upset at the fact his slightly older brother had no issues with murdering another.

Then again considering what Fon had done for a living before, he had zero room to talk. He just hoped Tang San wouldn't mind teaching him a bit about hidden weapons, because his limited knowledge of the art was rather rusty. Besides, it was so hard to find a decent weapons-smith.

* * *

 _Two years later..._

Tang San and Tang Fon were the most unusual twins in the village, but there was no denying the fact they had a close bond with each other. Both were overly mature for their age, both were morning people and both had a sense of hidden age behind their eyes... Fon more than Tang San.

Where Tang San felt like a grass reed that would bend rather than break, Tang Fon always felt like a storm that was on the verge of hitting. An unstoppable force of devastation where he stood in the center of it, unleashing the wrath of the hurricane.

Both twins were eagerly anticipating today, because they were rather curious to see what they would get.

One by one the children filed up and had their spirits awakened.

Fon allowed his brother to go before him... Tang San had some Blue Silver Grass and a war hammer. He wondered how rare twin spirits were in this world, though he focused more on the fact that Tang San had the peak amount of spiritual energy available almost immediately. It meant their training had paid off.

Then it was his turn...and he nearly gave the poor man a heart attack.

"A dragon!" he said with a hiss of shock.

Fon's spirit wasn't as 'passive' as Tang San. He had a vibrant red dragon that curled around his body that was almost _identical_ to the one he used to have tattooed on his left shoulder. With all the fuss over such a powerful and terrifying spirit, the fact he also manifested a war hammer in his left hand like his brother went unnoticed. Fon briefly noted that unlike Tang San, his hammer had curling dragons on it.

He briefly touched the orb and was pleased that he had innate full Spirit Power, just like his brother.

He could only hope that they wouldn't try to separate the two of them. It was nearly impossible to find a decent sparring partner that could keep up with him. Besides, he was rather fond of his brother.

As they left the hall where the ceremony took place, Fon shared a smile with Tang San.

"Well that was interesting," he said.

Tang San nodded.

"I wish I could say I am surprised that you got a dragon, but it suits you," said Tang San.

"Grass suits you as well, brother. You are the type that bends under adversity, but does not break. Besides, saying a plant has no applications is complete nonsense. I can think off the top of my head several applications for it depending on which path you want to take."

Poison, for instance, or healing herbs. Saying his brother's spirit was useless simply because they had never found it worth studying was a fool's comment. Just because Blue Silver Grass had yet to show it's true power didn't mean it was useless.

Tang San nodded in complete agreement. His mind also went to the fact that several plants that looked innocuous could prove lethal in the right doses and mixtures. Besides, poison complimented his hidden weapon style perfectly.

As they headed home, both twins were eager to see their father's reaction to the news.

Tang San apparently took more after their mother, because he had inherited her spirit. However it was the look on his face when he saw that _both_ of his sons inherited a war hammer that told Fon that it was far more important than words could express at the moment.

The look on his face when he saw the dragon Fon got was hilarious though.

It took several months of arguing, but the Elder finally got permission to extend the invitation to the twins to attend the Academy together. However as a concession he wasn't allowed to send anyone the year after and had to give up the spot to another village for two years.

Considering how _rare_ it was for anyone in their village to have spirit power during the awakening ceremony, it was a price they were willing to pay.

However the real difficulty came with convincing their father to let them attend. Fon wasn't certain what nightmares plagued the man's past, but he was sure it had something to do with what happened to their mother.

He let Tang San work on that aspect, focusing more on his own training and secretly befriending one of the animals in the forest.

He should have known Lichi would find a way to follow him here. He was inordinately pleased by this fact, but the problem was that he heard several rumors that Spirit Masters killed specific animals in order to get over the 'barrier' that prevented them from cultivating from a certain point.

Animals like the new body Lichi now inhabited. He would have to be extra vigilant if he wanted to prevent some fool from killing his monkey simply to obtain power.

During the course of the months before new admissions were accepted, Fon worked diligently on his new power.

He was beyond pleased when he discovered quite by accident that his Flames were still available. Like Tang San, some of his abilities _had_ carried over, but he had to work from scratch to get his body back into the condition he found acceptable. Something that took time and a lot of patience, because it mostly involved ingraving the moves into muscle memory.

Once he had a handle on his Storm Flames (and he felt relieved he wouldn't have to recreate most of his special attacks), he decided to alter their morning training to help Tang San awaken his.

He had no doubt his twin would have them.

* * *

Tang San stared at the purple and indigo flame that blazed brightly on his hand. Fon had to snort, because he should have guessed his twin had the same 'types' as Kyouya, just in vastly different proportions.

"You're a Cloud and Mist primary. The purple color allows you to propagate things...like throwing a single needle only to turn into a rain of them or increase the amount of poison on the weapons you use."

Seeing he had his brother's full interest, Fon smiled.

"Imagine a weapon you created in your last life. One that was intimately familiar to you. You know the weight as well as you do the smith's hammer you've been using recently. Every curve, every edge, every part of it...now imagine that you're holding it," said Fon.

Tang San closed his eyes. There were few weapons he was intimately familiar with in the way Fon was describing. He imagined one in particular, a blade he was rather proud of from his days as part of the Tang clan. It was something he was very familiar with and he could almost imagine the familiar weight in his hand. The hand gripped tight in his right palm, over familiar ridges and details.

He almost lost the image when he felt _something_ appear in his hand.

"Now open your eyes."

Tang San did...and stared in shock at the blade he was holding. There were a few details wrong, but he _knew_ this blade.

"That is the property of the Mist. To create something from nothing and nothing from something. So long as your belief is strong enough, you can make any number of 'creations' reality...or in your case give you access to weapons you once held before you have the material needed to recreate them. Remember, as long as _you_ believe it exists, then it will."

Tang San could already think of a _number_ of applications he could use for such abilities. The smaller weapons were a hassle to recreate, but being able to multiply them from a small number was a devastating ability. And to be able to recreate the weapons he was so familiar with so long as he truly believed they existed in his hand was not something he would idly pass up.

"And what color did you get, brother?" asked Tang San curious.

Fon's smile was wicked.

"Red, the color of the Storm. Basically my flame acts like an acid and disintergrates anything it touches," he said pleased.

Tang San would have shivered if anyone _else_ had that sort of wicked grin on their face while calmly explaining they could literally melt someone to death.

But if anyone had his trust with that sort of terrifying power, it was Fon.

"By the way, where do you go every afternoon while I'm with father?"

Fon grinned and whistled sharply.

A small white body chittered back, and flew out of the trees, before calmly jumping onto Fon's shoulder and staring at Tang San who was gaping.

"Tang San, meet Lichi. Lichi, this is my twin brother Tang San."

The monkey chittered at him, giving a tiny wave.

"...You do realize there's no way father would agree to let you keep a monkey in the house."

"Why do you think I've been keeping him outside?" said Fon amused.

A few days later, Lichi followed Fon home in a fit of boredom. Tang Hao, much to their surprise, barely batted his eye at the fact that his youngest son had managed to tame a monster into his own pet.

Fon was rather happy about that.

Which was why he waited until his twin was out getting food for the day before he asked his father something.

"Father...do you think it would be possible to hide the fact Lichi is actually a monster I befriended and acted as though he was my Martial Spirit?"

"There are spirits that can manifest as actual beasts. So long as you keep quiet about the fact you have a dragon it _should_ be possible," he admitted. "And never, ever show your hammer. Not unless your life or the life of your brother depends on it."

Fon bowed his head in agreement. He had suspected there was something odd about the hammer he and his brother had. It took far to much energy to manifest, which meant it was exceptionally powerful. Too powerful for every day training. Clearly their father wanted them to wait until they were much older before he taught them how to use it, which he could understand completely.

All too soon, the day came that they attend the Academy. Fon managed to bust Tang Hao before he disappeared.

"I don't know what it is you're hiding from, but I'll do my best to insure Xiao San isn't too badly hurt by the fact you plan to disappear for a while," said Fon.

Tang Hao froze. The tone of his youngest son's voice said that he knew far more than he let on. He had always suspected his sons had old souls in young bodies... Fon more than Tang San.

He turned to face his youngest.

"I can't train either of you. Not this early. The most I can do is to let you spread your wings and fly on your own terms until you are ready to learn."

"I know," said Fon. It was the same reason he didn't train his nephew Kyouya too extensively as a child. Just enough to be considered competent. He wanted to see the boy fly on his own terms without having to be constantly reminded of his uncle's accomplishments. "However leaving small reminders that you are still in the background if we need you would at least keep Xiao San from believing you've abandoned us."

Tang Wu nodded silently.

Before he left, he did leave one bit of parting advice.

"Do not trust Spirit Hall. I don't know what they are planning but they are the reason your mother is dead."

Fon silently acknowledged the warning. He would keep that to himself for now, which was likely why Tang Hao told him and not his brother. Tang San was mature yes, but he was also impetuous enough that he might make an enemy of a larger power before he was even _remotely_ ready to tackle them head-on.

* * *

 _Nuoding Spirit Academy_

Fon watched with open interest as they walked to the academy. Lichi was on his shoulder, acting as his 'spirit' since he would rather hide the fact he had awakened as a dragon. The Elder hadn't liked it much, but agreed it would be best to keep such things quiet since having such a rare and powerful spirit could inspire jealousy from the more established students.

Jealousy that could lead to all sorts of trouble, for both Fon and Tang San since they were working students.

So the form the Elder sent in was slightly altered to say that Fon had a 'beast spirit' but not which one. All the academy knew was that both twins had awakened with full innate spirit.

He couldn't wait to see what was in store for them for the next few years.


	93. Broken and Mended Chapter Two

Viper was late, which was somewhat unusual. For reasons only known to the prickly Mist, Fon was the only one they trusted with the location of a safe house which was close to a dead drop point they sometimes favored.

You could imagine Fon's shock when he came to the house...only to find a small boy roughly about 8 or nine years old with vibrant green eyes, messy black hair that went down to his neck and wearing an outfit very similar to the ones Viper tended to favor.

The child looked at him with suspicion.

"Who are you?" he asked calmly.

There was a sense of impending death if Fon answered wrong, which he found unusual.

"My name is Fon. Is Viper here?" he asked, smiling politely.

Dead silence as the boy stared at him incredulous.

" _You're_ Fon?" he said in disbelief.

Fon continued smiling, but had to wonder what stories Viper had told the child if his reaction was _that_.

"Can you prove it?" asked the child, clearly not willing to let him in just yet.

Fon carefully pushed aside his shirt to reveal part of his dragon tattoo and let a little bit of his Storm flames out. Very few people were aware of his tattoo after all.

The boy smirked when he saw it though.

"So you're the one Papa has a crush on that he won't admit to."

"I do not have a crush!" said an irate voice, before it started coughing. It did not sound pleasant at all. Viper glared viciously at Fon. "What are you doing here?"

"You were late and Luce was worried," said Fon simply. He had to wonder at the growl the boy gave when he said Luce's name. "So she asked me to look in on you. The others are getting rather annoyed at the hold up."

"Tell them I have the flu and won't be available for a few days."

"If you would just let me get the medicine..." said the boy exasperated. He hated seeing Viper like this.

"You know the rules. You're not to go anywhere without an escort," said Viper. "It's bad enough that random famiglia will try to nab you when I'm not around, I'll not risk them showing up again."

The child pouted, which Fon found adorable...while mentally cataloging the crush comment for later.

"Perhaps a compromise? You said he needs medicine, correct?" asked Fon pleasantly.

Viper glared at him, but the fact he didn't shoot down what Fon was obviously going to suggest was a good sign.

"I know where the alley is, but I can't access it just yet," said the child.

Viper was not happy, but they hated being sick even more. And out of the others, Fon was someone they knew they could reasonably trust to an extent with Harry.

"If you take longer than two hours I will hunt you down myself and deal with you," said Viper darkly, coughing a bit.

"Fair enough," said Fon. Clearly Viper was protective of the child.

Harry quickly went to get his bag and a handful of gold coins for some odd reason to pay for the medicine.

Fon was amused and curious about the child. Mostly because he wanted to know what it was about the boy that would get so thoroughly under Viper's skin that he wouldn't say a peep about the child using _gold_ as currency.

 _Fon POV_

Fon was amused by little Harry. The boy was a curious bundle of innocence and energy, and being around him was like a breath of fresh air.

Fon wasn't ashamed to direct the conversation to the comment Harry made about Viper having a crush on him though. It was too amusing not to elaborate on.

Harry gained a bit of a mischievous gleam in his eyes when he realized what Fon wanted to know.

"He can pretend all he wants, but his tone gets different whenever you're brought up."

"Oh?" said Fon, a conspirator's grin on his face.

"He turns wistful and always blushes when I call him on the fact he has a crush," snickered Harry. Fon grinned with him at that... it was information he knew Viper would love to keep quiet. "And he made sure that I knew what your tattoo looked like in detail... he kept stammering when I asked him how long he had to have been staring at it for the details to stick out that much."

Fon laughed...there was no way he was going to let Viper live that particular tidbit down. Not when the results would prove to be very amusing in the long run.

Harry easily went into the apothecary to get the medicine for Viper... Fon noted that it was a magical one, which would explain how the Mist had hidden the child from them in the first place. None of them were aware Viper had a _son_.

Viper gave Fon a flinty look when they returned, but patted Harry on the head for being able to procure the potion needed to deal with his flu. Steam poured out of his ears for a few moments, before he went to get ready.

It was when Harry went to hug Viper that Fon had a flash of insight as to why Harry was so unhappy about Luce, or why the woman failed every time she even remotely tried to lure Viper into her Sky.

Viper already had one. And the boy's flames were strong enough that it was sending out gentle temptations to Fon's Storm. He could tell right off the bat that Viper was his only Guardian, likely why the Mist had hidden him in the first place. A child that young would be easily molded into whatever a famiglia wanted if they managed to ensnare him with a bond.

Fon smiled at the boy and making sure Viper saw what he was about to do, patted him on the head much like the Mist had done.

And nearly froze.

Fon was a natural sensor, and while he was a Squib he could still sense magic.

Which was why the _second_ they were in the car, Fon turned to Viper with a serious expression.

"Your son is an Obscurial."

It wasn't a question.

Viper flinched, before his glare turned hard and cold. This wasn't a friendly acquaintance. This was a Guardian in full protective mode that was fully prepared to murder anyone that tried to hurt their Sky. Especially one that they had bonded to as a father.

"I found Harry when I murdered his 'uncle', who was merely married to his bitch of an aunt. The fool tried to stiff me and was openly planning to use the child as an errand boy for his underworld dealings to keep his hands clean, unaware that Harry was an Active Sky and therefor more valuable. Frankly it's a miracle no one tried to snatch him up before I took him in. We were in Milan when some idiot English wizards tried to kidnap him and Harry snapped into mist the first time."

"How stable is he?" asked Fon seriously.

"Considering I took him _from_ an abusive situation and provided him stability and affection, fairly stable. I believe if he finds more elements his Flames will naturally cause his magic to stabilize to the point no one will be able to tell he's an obscurial in the first place. He only really loses control if our bond is being threatened or someone is attempting to take me away from him," said Viper quietly. You could feel how frazzled he was over it. "It's taken considerable effort to keep him from going after Luce, for instance, and that's only because I don't want him anywhere near the likes of Verde."

Clearly Viper had been keeping the child close, to prevent incidents. The fact Fon hadn't suspected a thing until he sensed it meant that it was working, amazingly enough. And what Viper said had a ring of truth to it. Sky flames were akin to a spiritual glue, and an obscurial was the result of an imbalance driven by fear and instincts going haywire.

There was every possibility that if Viper's son found more Guardians, his core would stabilize and he would no longer be a threat to others.

Didn't mean Fon was going to allow Luce to continue trying to poach the Mist though. He had no illusions about what would happen if she continued and Harry came into contact with her.

* * *

Harry was a little confused by the fact Viper allowed Fon to visit so regularly, when he was so paranoid about others knowing about him.

Fon was nice, and he knew all sorts of interesting recipes. Besides, he liked tea, unlike Viper who preferred straight coffee. The two of them shared amusement at the positively zombie-like appearance Viper had in the mornings before his second cup.

Harry rather liked Fon. He made Viper happy and he was nice to be around. The first time the Storm saw his 'mist-form' as Viper blithly called it, he had merely blinked. Sure, he was tense in case something happened, but he didn't attack or treat Harry like a monster after.

Instead Fon pulled Harry into a firm, but gentle hug once he returned to human form. It unleashed some of the tension in his body.

"So you've been training him in how to use his obscurial form offensively?"

"I've noticed that the color of the mist itself has changed since the first attempts. Originally it was as black as night and as deadly as Renato in a mood, but now it's much lighter," said Viper. "There's also the fact that it seems to have unlocked a rather peculiar ability after the first few times he did it deliberately."

"Ability?"

"Show him," said Viper.

Harry concentrated and scrunched up his nose a bit...before turning into a smaller version of Fon with a slightly shorter braid.

Several emotions flitted through his mind too quickly to identify, but the effect it had on Fon was pretty obvious. It was no wonder Viper got so attached to the child, if he could turn into a smaller version of him.

A wicked thought occurred to Fon, which had Harry perk up in mischief.

"I sense chaos," he said brightly.

"What are you planning?"

"Could you imagine the havoc we could create if we introduced Harry looking like a mini-Renato to the others and have him call that arrogant Sun papa or something similar?" said Fon with an evil grin on his face.

Viper cackled a little at the thought of it. Before it was drowned in a wave of possessiveness. Harry was _his_ son and he'd be damned if he allowed that bastard Renato to try and get his claws into him like that. Even so, the idea of the chaos it would create especially with Renato was too amusing not to imagine.

* * *

 _With the others_

Luce looked between Viper and Fon with some amusement...and suspicion. Out of all of them, those two were the _only_ ones who were displaying signs of being pulled to a different Sky, or had been claimed by one already. Viper's flames had never once drifted in her direction and the way Fon reacted every time she tried said volumes.

The two had gotten very close indeed, if the hickey Viper kept trying to hide was any indication. Luce thought it was adorable.

"Anything you two care to tell us?" purred Renato.

"It's none of your business," said Viper sharply, without hesitation.

"Oh I think the fact you're spying on us for a different Sky is very much my business," said Renato darkly.

The tension in the room was so thick you could choke on it. Fon snorted.

"Viper's Sky has no interest in the mafia, at least not yet. If anything his only concern would be to brutally murder Luce for trying to poach his Mist from him."

Dead silence.

"You know who Viper's Sky is?" said Lal sharply. She was angry over the 'fact' Viper was betraying them to someone else. She took loyalty very seriously.

"He's _nine_ ," said Fon bluntly.

"...What?" said Renato, almost dumbly to Fon's amusement.

"Viper's Sky is only nine years old," repeated Fon. "One that has been abused so extensively by his blood family that his flames were on the verge of complete Discord before Viper took him in."

An uncomfortable silence descended.

"How sure are you about his age?" asked Renato, trying to prove Fon wrong. However a Sky going into complete Discord was not something Fon would bandy about lightly.

Viper glared at them all.

"I'm not telling any of you anything without a hell of a lot of money first. I take his safety seriously, especially after what I found out."

Viper was mildly surprised at the amount of money they quickly forked over. A part of him should feel gleeful about having this sort of information to hold over them, but he just felt hollow. He barely tolerated sharing his son with Fon as it was...these bastards were all just as greedy and possessive as he was.

"Harry James Potter, born July thirty-first exactly nine years ago to one James and Lily Potter. His mother's original surname was Evans and upon her death he was illegally placed with his maternal aunt who despised her sister to the point she treated her nephew as a live-in servant. It was so bad that he openly admitted his 'room' was the cupboard under the stairs, despite the fact they had more than enough bedrooms in the home," repeated Viper dully, though you could feel the rage in his voice. "The first time I met him, I had just killed his 'uncle' who was trying to skip out on a loan he owed me. Apparently the fat pig had been using the child as an errand boy on top of the fact he treated the little one as his personal punching bag, claiming it was 'childhood roughhousing'. The only reason I took him with me was because I could tell right away he had Sky Flames."

Renato snorted darkly.

"You were planning to 'sell' him off to a famiglia in exchange for favors or money, and ended up roped in as the boy's Guardian," he half-asked.

Viper couldn't look any of them in the eye.

"The thing that pisses me off is that someone has been trying to force my son back into that _home_ , despite the clear evidence of abuse and neglect. From what he's told me, his aunt would react quite badly if he ever returned...she moved her petty jealousy towards her much more successful younger sister to her nephew, even forcing him to cook the moment he was just tall enough to reach the stove and know how to use the oven."

Seeing the way the others turned cold with fury hearing that, they could understand why Viper was keeping the boy well hidden. It was bad enough to abuse a child, but abusing a young _Sky_? That was tantamount to suicide around flame users.

Fon took _one_ look at the expression in Luce's face before he said flatly "No, Luce, we are not bringing him here. Absolutely not."

"Fon, you of all people should know how dangerous an untrained flame user is. Especially one with Sky flames," she said with a disappointed tone.

"It's less because I'm worried about what you lot will do to Harry and more to do with the fact that I _know_ he will react badly when he meets you in particular. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind he will turn you into meaty chunks the second he finds out who you are or if you try to coax your flames near him. He's already pissed you've been trying to take his father from him," said Fon bluntly.

"Don't be ridiculous. How could a child get past us?" said Renato.

Fon's expression said volumes.

"Harry's flames are in such a disarray it's a miracle Viper's been able to stablize him this much. However they're not so stable that he will accept any intrusion of other Skies without lethal force, and with what he is he _will_ kill Luce at this stage... and there would be nothing any of us could do about it."

Fon said this all in a matter of fact voice, as if it was a foregone conclusion the child would murder Luce if they met.

Seeing they didn't believe him, Viper gave them the best example they could think of to prove it.

"Have any of you seen photos of the Phillipe Don? I don't mean the current one, but the one that 'mysteriously' died in a way that made it clear he pissed something off he shouldn't have?" asked Viper.

"I have. Whatever did that left such a mess it was almost impressive," said Renato immediately. Luce looked a little green, as she had seen the pictures as well.

Mostly out of curiosity, since the previous Don was a Sky she was allied with.

"The idiot tried to shove his flames on me while Harry was nearby and he reacted. Badly. It took me four hours before he calmed down enough that I could safely abscond with him to a safe location without the culprit being tracked down to us," said Viper bluntly.

"You're telling us a _child_ did that?!" said Renato in disbelief. "The man looked like he had been thrown into a shredder, and the room itself looked like a bomb had gone off!"

"Well, that tends to happen with children that have Harry's unique and quite unfortunate condition," said Fon with a shrug.

There had been quite a bit of speculation what caused the damage, but Fon had never made the connection to "obscurial on the warpath" until he met Harry and Viper. He had merely had to ask if Viper had ever had contact with the don to confirm his suspicions.

It certainly adds weight to Fon's warning that introducing Harry to Luce at this moment is a very _bad idea_.


	94. Rising Dragon, Hidden Hammers Chapter 2

Fon had little patience for braggarts and even less for idiots. So the fact that the gatekeeper was being difficult on purpose _and_ insulting their home village was not something he would idly ignore.

"Xiao San, do you mind if I?"

Tang San nodded and stepped back. Lichi made a point to jump onto his brother's shoulder to allow Fon free range of moment...there was no need to use his dragon on this idiot.

A wicked smirk appeared on Fon's face. It had taken some doing, but he had been able to track down the ingredients for Gyoza-kempo.

Nothing scared the hell out of braggarts like this fool than being 'mysteriously' paralyzed and knocked back by some unknown force. Tang San had given him an odd look when he first used it on him...mostly to see if he had gotten the recipe right...but had quickly accepted the idea of such a style with good humor.

Even if his brother did complain that Fon liked his food far too spicy.

Fon's hands were a blur, and the man was sent flying into the gate.

"Only fools judge those by appearance, rather than by their skills," said Fon calmly, keeping his usual serene smile on his face. "Even a child knows that sometimes hidden gems can be found in a pig's feeding trough."

Fortunately for the gatekeeper, one of the teachers happened to be coming in before Fon humiliated him further.

"Enough."

"Grandmaster, you're back!" said the gatekeeper. While he 'sounded' respectful, there was an undercurrent in his tone that said it wasn't full respect.

Was it possible the man was a pure scholar? That might account for it.

"May I see the paper?" he asked calmly.

Lichi returned to Fon's shoulder as he handed over the pass for both of them.

"Twins?" he said after a moment in surprise. "And with full innate spirit ability. This pass is genuine."

The gatekeeper looked very surprised to hear that, but reluctantly let him through.

Fon's respect for this 'grandmaster' went up when he heard the older man dismiss the idiot who caused the ruckus because he was too stupid to do such a simple job correctly. Clearly the teacher didn't like the way he had disrespected them simply because they came from a rather rural village.

The man the twins would call 'master' set the tone for his competence when...after he busted Tang San for having twin spirits simply based off the fact he had full innate spirit power despite only being a Blue Silver Grass according to the records... he looked to Fon confused.

"Why do you have a four-hundred year old monkey on your shoulder?"

Fon blinked.

"He's four hundred years old? Exactly how long have you been here?" he turned to ask Lichi. The monkey chittered, but didn't 'reply' back.

"My brother decided it was less hassle to pretend Lichi is his beast spirit, rather than allow his actual one to be known."

"That and I heard something about how Spirit Masters use creatures like Lichi to increase their power, and I didn't want some idiot getting ideas," scowled Fon.

"A wise move. So long as none of the other students pick up on the fact the monkey is your 'friend' rather than your spirit, there should be no issue," he admitted. "That being said you should consider carefully what sort of spirit beast you wish to use for your first spirit ring," he replied. "There are variant spirits, though you may wish to come up with a way to 'hide' your friend so the students do not catch on right away."

Fon bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"I had a feeling that it might work, though father made no mention of variant spirits."

"It it not something that is studied often, as variants are often weaker than the norm. Occasionally one is born that is stronger or has a unique attribute, but for the most part they tend to be considered 'weak'," said the man. There was a hint of bitterness in his tone when he said that.

Fon hid a frown. Somehow he had the distinct feeling the man was speaking from personal experience.

"Then it is up to the human to overcome such 'weakness' and to learn not to rely so much on the spirit. Perhaps once that is accomplished the flaw that created the problem can be fixed."

There was a certain hint of respect in the Grandmaster's eyes when Fon said that.

"There are no 'junk spirits' only junk people," agreed Tang San without hesitation. "Everyone keeps saying Blue Silver grass is useless, but then again there are plenty of plants in nature that appear harmless only to contain deadly poisons."

"Or turn out to be unique healing ingredients that can save lives," added Fon.

There was a definite respect in his eyes now.

Fon had no issue acknowledging the man known as the 'Grandmaster' as his teacher, or that he would be sharing him with Tang San. It was clear that where the man lacked ability in the practical (through no fault of his own), he made up for it in valuable knowledge.

And above all else, the twins knew how much power there was to be had in knowledge and diligent studying.

"What are your names?"

"I am Tang San."

"I am Tang Fon, though I do not mind being addressed purely as Fon," said the younger twin, bowing his head in polite respect. "And this is Lichi."

"Call me Grandmaster. It's what everyone else calls me around here. He looked at Fon directly though. "Why are you claiming that your friend is actually your spirit though?"

Fon looked him in the eye.

"Because the last thing I want to deal with is the sycophants that would bother me the second it gets out that my spirit is a dragon," he said flatly. "Far easier to hide behind Lichi's presence than to deal with fools who assume that I would allow them to leech off me like parasites simply because of my spirit or the fact I was born with full innate power like my brother."

"A dragon?" said the grandmaster in shock. Once he made sure there was no one to witness what Fon was about to do, the younger of the twins unleashed his spirit. "Are you by any chance from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan?"

Fon and Tang San shook their heads.

"As far as we know, our father is nothing more than the village blacksmith. Our mother died shortly after we were born, and father never mentions her. He was very shocked when he saw what my spirit was however...apparently she had Blue Silver grass as well," said Fon.

"Besides, if we really _were_ part of an established clan then the elders wouldn't have had to sacrifice their pass for the next two years so both of us could attend," said Tang San.

That seemed to calm the Grandmaster down, though there was still shock evident in his features.

Fon suspected the man knew a bit more about the clan than he let on.

"For now let's get you two registered and settled in. We'll work on getting your first spirit halo before the month is out."

"Yes, teacher," said the twins in unison.

* * *

 _In the dorms..._

Fon immediately _knew_ Xiao Wu was not human the second he met her. Her "Qi" felt entirely different from any other human girl he had been around. In fact she felt more like Lichi than a human, though he suspected her to be some form of rabbit spirit beast considering her features.

It was not his problem to deal with. So long as she did not prove a threat to his twin he had no issue with her training with them as a fellow student.

"Ah, a monkey!" said Xiao Wu.

Lichi chittered happily and jumped on the girl's shoulder, looking very content around her. Fon smiled.

"Lichi seems to like you. That usually means you're a good person," he said calmly.

"Is this your spirit beast?" asked Xiao Wu with interest.

"He's my friend," corrected Fon. He then added in a low tone so only she heard what he said next. "I wasn't about to leave a friend behind when everyone would mistake him for my Martial Soul. Besides, this way no one would hunt him for his spirit ring later."

It took her a few moments to process this, before Xiao Wu beamed at him. Clearly she liked the fact Fon was willing to befriend a spirit beast _and_ protect him from spirit masters who just wanted his ring to add to their own power.

"I'm actually rather curious. Where did you learn that particular style of martial arts? You wouldn't believe how often I hear people ask whether or not my braid gets in the way of a fight."

Xiao Wu eyed Fon's slightly long hair which was done up in a braid the same way her own was, just without the decorations.

"I could show you how to use it offensively, if you want," she offered.

Fon smiled at her.

"How about we exchange pointers. I can think of several styles that would suit your natural flexibility and make your own attacks even more effective," he said in return.

Tang San snickered.

"You are such a fanboy when it comes to fighting styles brother. I haven't seen you this enthusiastic since we started exchanging pointers together," said Tang San.

"I like to learn how to improve myself, something you have as well brother," said Fon hiding a grin. At least he wouldn't be bored... Xiao Wu had already proven tricky enough to defeat even his brother, and her style was unique enough that it had even his jaded interest in it.

Besides...she had found a way to successfully incorporate her braid into her fighting style. There was no way in hell Fon was passing that up, if only so people would quit making comments about the fact he had one of his own!

Fon and Tang San were in the grandmaster's personal office.

"Tang San, for your training I want you to focus on adding 'poison' and 'toughness' to your grass spirit. While Blue Silver grass is indeed a 'weak' spirit, it is also flexible enough that it will not easily reject spirit rings from beasts so long as there is enough compatibility. I believe you have the natural abilities of a 'control' specialist," said Grandmaster.

He fully intended to have Tang San be the one to prove his theories were right. He could tell the boy had the ability to do it, and to finally give him some vindication for all the years he spent researching.

"As for you, Tang Fon... I believe you are a 'battle' or 'agility' type. You are the sort who would do well in powerful blows that strike at a moment's notice without retreating until your allies are prepared to back you up. Like a storm that pounds upon the glass without relenting until it's energy is spent and it dissipates."

"In other words I must become the 'eye' of the storm that fights off the more powerful fighters, allowing my brother to direct where the next blows will hit and when," said Fon.

There was a certain level of irony in the idea. Fortunately he already had the mindset to remain calm in the face of adversity, which was one of the flaws all Storms had.

He nodded.

Tang San looked at his twin and tried not to laugh.

"Is there something funny?" asked the Grandmaster.

"It's just... Fon already embodies that idea. He used to drive the other children in the village to anger with his comments and blunt observations because of the way they spoke about our father, and yet he would always maintain that smile of his while _they_ got into trouble for trying to start a fight with the adults. If anyone fits the image of the 'eye of the storm', it's Fon."

The Grandmaster had to smile at that.

"No starting fights here," he said firmly.

"I don't _start_ fights, but I certainly intend to finish them," said Fon. He wasn't an actual child, after all. "That being said I would suggest that you get Xiao San's ring first, considering the fools here would believe his spirit is 'weak'. I can handle waiting a few days," said Fon.

The Grandmaster nodded. It would be easier to hunt their spirit rings one at a time and this allowed him to focus on getting the perfect one for Tang San on the first try. And if he was really lucky, prove his theories once and for all.

Besides, it would be rather difficult to find a good ring for a dragon. It was better not to rush their development, especially when Fon could focus on theory until they found something suitable.

* * *

Fon's hand lashed out and grabbed the arrogant fool who tried to take Xiao Wu's comb. It was clearly something precious, likely a momento of her dead mother (she had a habit of crying in her sleep) and he had no tolerance for bullies.

"Let go, you pathetic twit! You're just a low-level monkey spirit!" sneered the boy.

Fon gave him a level Look.

"All students are equal in the Academy. Besides, I don't need to rely on my spirit to defeat you," said Fon evenly.

Seeing the sneer of the students able to pay their way into the academy, Fon maintained his serene smile. This would be a good test of his skills, and since Tang San was off getting his first spirit ring it meant he could have a bit of fun.

"What are you doing!" hissed Xiao Wu.

"He was trying to steal that comb of yours. I think he intended to break it because you defied him so openly despite being a working student," said Fon in a low voice. "Besides, if I beat him without my spirit abilities then he'll be forced to acknowledge our dorm as his equals or lose face."

Xiao Wu had a strange expression on her face. Especially when Fon took Lichi and put him on her shoulder.

"Keep him company, will you?"

Xiao Wu held Lichi in her arms, that odd expression still prevelant.

Though she wasn't the only one to stare in shock when Fon proceeded to beat the crap out of the other students who made fun of them for needing jobs to help pay for minor expenses at the academy...all without once releasing his spirit abilities. The boy used pure martial arts and skill to defeat supposedly stronger students.

Xiao Wu blinked a little when she felt a gentle hand ruffle her hair.

"Don't worry little sister... Tang San and I will look after you," he said fondly.

Xiao Wu stared after Fon who took the 'congratulations' of the other students with aplomb. He barely looked fazed by the fact he had displayed so much strength and wasn't even remotely trying to brag about it. And the way he patted her head...it had the same 'feel' as her mother when she did it.

A few days later, Tang San returned.

"I heard you got into a fight without me."

"To be fair, they were planning to break Xiao Wu's comb," said Fon.

"...Were they any good?" asked Tang San.

Fon gave him a flat look.

"Really? I didn't even have to break out my more advanced moves, much less my abilities. They're children... I just informed them who is at the top of the pecking order. Though they might require a reminder not to mess with the working students regardless," said Fon.

Tang San snorted at that.

Fon's words prove true when less than a week later, while he was out with the Grandmaster getting his first spirit ring, Tang San and Xiao Wu had to reinforce the fact that the working class students were not weak. On an unrelated note, Xiao Wu managed to get the entire Academy to call her "Big Sister Xiao Wu" in less than a day after the incident. Tang San and Fon were happy to let her deal with that headache.

(Even if Fon was quietly cackling at the fact Xiao Wu and Tang San were clearly tied by the 'red string of fate'. While the bunny didn't mind treating him like an older brother, there was clearly some potential interest that could develop into something more between her and Tang San.)


	95. Wind in the Willow Chapter One

Fon took the call with open dread and exasperation.

"Not again..." he sighed.

Needless to say his behavior was unusual enough to garner the attention of everyone else.

Fon politely listened to the other end, and his exasperation turned to a Stormy fury. You could tell because his eyes were glowing an ominous red.

"I'll be there promptly," said Fon, hanging up with a very angry look on his face.

"What's wrong?" asked Skull.

"I'll explain later. I'm going to be gone for a day or two," said Fon curtly.

When Fon returned, it was with a small child about three or four years old. A little girl who bore a strong resemblance to him, meaning there was a close relation.

"You brought a kid _here_?" said Lal incredulous. She briefly glanced at Renato and Verde, who noted it but said nothing. They were too busy looking at the brat in Fon's arms.

"Can I hold her?" said Skull at the same time. He loved kids.

Fon allowed Skull to cuddle with the child.

"Who or what is that?" demanded Viper.

"My daughter, Willow," said Fon tiredly. "For some reason I have an inability to find a proper babysitter for her without some form of 'incident' taking place after two or three months."

"What sort of incidents?" asked Renato suspiciously. He barely tolerated kids on a good day.

"Strange occurrences, a few bad habits that only happen around certain people...kidnapping attempts."

"Kidnapping attempts?" repeated Renato.

"I don't know why, but without fail if Willow is left with the same caretaker for at least four months there's always an attempted kidnapping. It doesn't matter who I leave her with or how many precautions are taken, without fail someone tries to grab her. I suspect it's because she has Inactive Flames," said Fon tiredly.

Now that he mentioned it, they could sense she had them. Just currently dormant at the moment.

Luce walked in, took _one_ look at the kid in Skull's arms and squealed.

Fon winced.

"Luce, whatever you do don't get within range of Willow. She has a habit of biting Skies for some reason."

That got the baffled expression of nearly everyone save for Skull.

"I could have sworn you just said that your daughter _bites_ Skies. As in this is a known behavioral problem," said Viper.

Fon sighed, and face-palmed with a tired expression.

"I don't know why, but without fail every time Willow has been within range of a Sky she has tried to bite them the _second_ they come near her. And it doesn't matter what sort of personality they have either...she cannot stand any of them. For some reason her reaction is proportionate to the amount of Sky flames near her... the more is in the air, the deeper her bite tends to be. I swear she must have Cloud flames."

Luce pouted at that, but kept her distance.

"So why did you have to retrieve her this time?" asked Lal changing the subject.

"Someone nearly succeeded in kidnapping her, except she managed to stay hidden until I arrived. However the idiots kidnapped a different child and if I want to retain any of my friendship with the family I will have to retrieve them in between making an example of the fools behind it," said Fon irritated. "The problem is that now I have to find a new babysitter, and I've almost used up all the favors I've made over the years. As if that wasn't bad enough word has apparently spread about the issue."

"Why don't you leave her here then?" said Skull innocently.

"Leave me out of it!" said Renato just as quickly, once Skull said that.

Lal, Verde and Viper all nodded in complete agreement with Renato's statement.

Fon eyed the way Willow was calmly staying in Skull's arms.

"If you could keep an eye on her for a few days, I would appreciate it. Just until I can find someone else to watch her," he said tiredly.

Skull perked up at that. He didn't think Renato would be a big enough bastard to harass him while he was watching Fon's kid. Not without earning the eternal ire of the Storm. Besides, he liked kids.

Before Fon left, he did leave one parting warning.

"Don't bother putting her in front of any 'age-appropriate' educational programming. She has a habit of wandering off and getting into mischief if that's on," said Fon.

"Really?" said Skull.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you know those _Godzilla_ movies you have a habit of watching late at night when you have a reasonable chance of controlling the TV?" said Fon.

Skull nodded...before mentally wincing that Fon had busted his secret addiction.

"She can watch those with you, so long as it's not any later than ten. And she generally takes a nap before lunch. So long as the show isn't _too_ mind-numbingly boring she might stay and watch it, but she absolutely hates most children shows. And she's faster than you think."

Skull nodded, and took actual notes. The list was pretty basic, even if a few items were a tad odd.

"So you have no problem with me corrupting her with _Godzilla_ movies?" he asked.

"I've caught her enjoying _Doctor Who_ and I've seen her watch the first _Lord of the Rings_ movie without falling asleep. She doesn't really get nightmares from it," said Fon. "She tolerates Disney, but she prefers Miyazaki."

"I got a few of those movies in my trunk," said Skull. He was sure letting her watch _Spirited Away_ or even _Nausica_ wouldn't be too terrible.

Fon left, and Skull put Willow somewhere safe where she wouldn't get into too much trouble with the others before he went to dig out some of his movie collection. Some were a bit too graphic, but from the sound of things she could handle PG-13 at least.

However while he was busy doing that, he had no idea that Luce hadn't quite taken Fon's warning as seriously as she should have.

"OW!"

Renato looked up from his book when he heard that, and blinked when he registered a rather deep bite mark on Luce's hand.

"Didn't Fon say his brat has a biting habit around Skies?" he commented. He got up and took a closer look at the wound. "You're lucky you pulled back so quickly. Any deeper and this would need stitches."

Renato took extra care healing over the wound... human mouths were a hotbed of bacteria and other unpleasant things, and being bitten could easily lead to infection.

Skull walked in and blinked at what Renato was doing.

"I thought Fon said to keep clear of Willow because she has a biting habit?"

"What do you have there?" asked Renato, changing the subject on Luce's stupidity. The kid had been staying put while Skull went to get a movie, so full blame could be placed on Luce's shoulders for getting so close.

" _My Neighbor Totoro_ ," said Skull.

Renato had never heard of it, but it looked like an animated movie so he promptly went to ignore it.

"I didn't know you watched children's movies," he snarked.

"It's a Miyazaki. They're like the Japanese version of Disney, except it's not so cutesy and the characters have actual depth to them."

Renato made a noise of disinterest. Skull ignored him and checked over Willow before turning on the TV and putting in the movie.

Renato ignored it for the most part until he started to register what was actually happening in the movie.

Without even realizing it, he started to get drawn into the storyline which made Skull grin in victory.

"What the hell are you two watching?" asked Lal baffled.

" _My Neighbor Totoro_ ," said Skull. "It's a Miyazaki, since I don't really have any Disney ones."

Willow clapped happily when the movie ended, and cheered when Skull brought out a different one.

" _Howl's Moving Castle_?" said Renato. The last one had been better than he thought, so he was willing to give it a chance.

"Trust me you'll like it. Or at least identify with Howl," said Skull. He would be surprised if Renato didn't identify with the wizard.

Renato was hooked just as quickly and almost disappointed with the fact it ended. The storyline appealed to him without being too 'cutesy' and ridiculous about it, and the animation was rather good overall.

It took him several moments to realize Willow had fallen asleep sometime during the end credits and was curled up on his lap. Strangely, Renato didn't overly mind the fact the kid was sleeping on him. She was rather cute all sleepy and snoozing peacefully on his lap like this.

"...Got any more of these?" asked Renato.

"I have at least two more, and all the current Godzilla movies," said Skull. "I also have a ton of horror movies."

Renato glanced at the little girl sound asleep on his lap, then at Skull.

"Bring out some horror movies. Odds are we're going to be stuck watching the kid-friendly ones often enough while Fon's gone, so we might as well enjoy an uninterrupted slash fest while she's sleeping," ordered Renato.

Skull blinked, before a wide grin appeared on his face.

"What level of horror do you want?"

"So long as it's not overly ridiculous I don't care."

Skull went to his room and brought out several horror movies. He handed them over to Renato, who picked one out and he put it on. Who knew all he needed to properly bond with the prickly asshole of a Sun was a movie night?

* * *

 _Some time later..._

Viper wasn't the only one to stare at the scene on the couch. They were sure everyone else was too.

It was shortly after lunch and Renato had decided to take a nap on the couch. Except he wasn't alone...at some point Fon's daughter had managed to crawl on top of him and was happily snoozing on his chest, her head curled into his neck contentedly.

"Am I the only one seeing this?" asked Lal.

"It's not just you," said Verde.

Viper was already taking blackmail pictures.

"What I want to know is why she went to him, rather than Skull," said Lal. Because Skull had crashed on the chair next to the couch after playing with Willow before lunch, and it there wasn't that much of a height difference between it and the couch. Besides, even asleep Renato gave off a sense of 'danger' and 'chaos', which made it very baffling Fon's kid had picked him as her nap partner.

"Too cute!" said Luce.

This time she kept her distance. Her hand still hadn't fully healed over after the rather deep bite Willow had given her for getting too close, despite Fon's warning.

Renato woke up an hour later, and had to blink at the small body on his chest. Willow was in a half-doze, so when he woke up properly so did she. He had to stare at the verdant green eyes not too dissimilar to Verde's own shade looking right into his black ones.

"Why are you on me? Skull's the one who actually likes kids," said Renato baffled.

Willow blinked cutely, before nuzzling into his neck.

"Comfy...you feel like papa does..." she mumbled in English of all things. It was heavily accented but understandable.

Well, Fon had mentioned he caught her watching _Doctor Who_ , so it was possible she picked it up from the show.

Then what she said filtered through his mind, and he stared at her.

"I feel like your papa?"

Willow nodded, clutching his suit without a second thought. Though she was careful not to wrinkle it.

Renato quickly realized if he wanted to get up, he would have to carry her. Sighing, he easily maneuvered his arm under her so that he would support her weight.

"Come on principessa. Let's make sure Skull's idiocy doesn't infect you. If you can learn English from a show there's no reason you can't pick Italian up just as quickly," said Renato.

Willow perked up at that, and beamed brightly when she realized she was being carried.

If the surreal sight of Willow sleeping soundly on the prickly Sun wasn't enough, seeing her pay avid attention to Renato teaching her basic Italian...and managing to stumble through the pronunciation at his gentle prompting...was enough to make everyone wonder if they had stumbled into the Twilight Zone.

Every one of them knew Renato barely tolerated children. He made no bones that he didn't particularly like interacting with them, much less spending any significant amount of time near them.

And yet here he was, teaching a three and a half year old little girl how to speak Italian with more patience than he ever gave Skull on a good day.

Luce pouted, because even she could see the way Willow's eyes narrowed the _second_ she came within five feet of the girl. There was no mistaking the fact Willow would react badly if Luce came too close to her.

Renato noticed the way Willow's eyes discreetly tracked Luce's movements. It was rather familiar in a way.

"Principessa, why do you not like Luce?" he asked.

Willow huffed, looking every inch the child she was.

"She wants to take Papa away."

Renato wasn't the only one to blink at that response.

"Take your papa away?" repeated Viper incredulous.

Willow nodded, and made it clear she was on the verge of a temper tantrum at the mere idea of such a thing happening.

"She keeps trying to take Papa from me," said Willow adamant, in all her three-year-old glory.

Renato mentally ran what limited information he had on Fon's daughter through his head. Viper was the one to come up with it first.

Their eyes widened slightly under their hood. It was a well known fact that Elements could bond with others, even if there was no chance of a Guardian bond happening. Considering how fond Fon was of his daughter, it was entirely possible he had such a bond with Willow.

"Do you believe Luce is trying to replace what you have with Fon?" asked Viper carefully.

Willow looked at them, and there was a too-knowing gaze behind those green eyes.

"Papa is mine, not hers!" huffed Willow, her cheeks pouting.

Seeing the look the others were giving them, Viper snorted.

"Willow likely has a deep bond with Fon and thinks that Luce is trying to usurp it with her Sky. Which would explain her dislike of Skies, if that's the case. You'll have to wait until Fon comes back before we can remotely teach her the difference between them Luce," said Viper.

A three year old wouldn't know the difference between a Sky attempting to court her father, and someone trying to take away the most important person in her life. And considering Fon mentioned it was a well known problem, it was likely he hadn't picked up on this fact himself.

Luce pouted, but at least now she knew it wasn't that the kid hated her. She could wait until Fon returned, even if she felt guilt about the fact she knew exactly what was coming. If Willow disliked her now, she was almost certain to hate Luce later.


	96. Leader of the Pack Chapter One

"Get a summer job she said. Enjoy your youth in a tropical paradise while earning some money..." grumbled a sixteen year old with a Japanese accent. He was moping floors and doing general work as a janitor.

Admittedly, working at Jurassic World was pretty amazing. He got free drinks, his English had improved exponentially (on top of a few other languages he was quickly getting the hang of) and he was earning a steady pay. It also meant he got up close and personal with some of the attractions, at least the smaller ones like the baby triceratops.

He was just finishing up when one of the senior janitors came up to him.

"Hey Tsuna! How would you like to earn a little extra until your summer is up?"

"What's the catch?"

"It's the Raptor Pen. Another guy quit, so there's an opening. All you have to do is some minor work around the pen and that's it."

Tsuna had heard things of that pen, and how a lot of the rookies tended to jump ship or demand different jobs after a month because the raptors scared them.

He sighed.

"How much more?"

He still needed money for the plane ticket home, and his mother didn't have enough to pay for it.

"Last a week, and it gets doubled. Mostly because you're a temp anyway."

"Fine. When do they want me to start?"

"I can introduce you to Owen after lunch."

Owen was a nice guy, and a bit dubious about having a temp do the job. Mostly because Tsuna looked (and occasionally acted) like a skittish kitten, which wasn't a good idea around raptors.

Blue was staring at him again. Tsuna stared right back through the bars, not turning his eyes away for a second. These were intelligent, deadly predators and if they thought he was weak enough to look away for a second they'd never respect him or leave him alone.

Charlie and Delta soon joined in on the staring contest. Tsuna didn't flinch, nor did he turn away when Owen walked up behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"Proving to them I'm not prey," said Tsuna, trying desperately not to blink.

Owen looked at his girls, then at the kid. Who was actually holding his own in a battle of wills against the raptors and not flinching. The kid had more of a spine than he thought.

Suddenly Blue blinked, and with her Charlie and Delta backed off. Blue made a sort of warble that wasn't approval, but definitely not the sound she made around prey animals.

"Nice job kid. You impressed them," said Owen, patting his shoulder.

"I like animals, and I see no reason not to give raptors the proper respect they deserve. That, and hopefully it'll give them reason not to maul me if I ever fall in," said Tsuna.

"Smart kid."

Tsuna ducked his head in embarrassment. It was nice to be praised, rather than ridiculed.

"So what exactly do you use to communicate with them anyway?"

"One of those clicker toys, mostly. And that a lot of body language," said Owen. He was more than happy to share it with someone who was genuinely interested.

As the days went by, Tsuna adjusted to his new schedule. Unlike most of the rookies his age, he didn't balk at the fact that he was being 'tested' by the raptors every now and again.

He would find himself in staring contests at least every other day, and he never backed down once. It seemed to earn him some respect from the four raptors.

"The pig is loose!" shouted one of the other workers.

Tsuna tried to retract the 'leash' meant to capture the pig from above, but the thing barreled into the noose and yanked him down. Owen cried in alarm, and noticed Tsuna immediately did a duck and roll, coming up face to face with four raptors ready to attack at the first hint of weakness.

He was on the wrong side of the doors, and trying to make a run for it would only get him killed. A strange sort of calm settled over him, like he was seeing everything through a filter and his mind felt nothing but peace.

He kept all four of the raptors in view, never breaking eye contact once. He remembered vividly the way Owen would describe how he communicated with his girls, and how body language was very important.

He didn't have a clicker, but he could whistle. And he liked listening to the raptors "talk" to each other, and trying to figure out what they were saying.

He vaguely noted Owen was trying to keep him calm, but he didn't hear his voice. Instead he tried something that might be a bad idea, but then he didn't have many options.

He clicked his tongue, much like the toy Owen used.

Blue stared him down, almost in challenge. He was not their alpha, and he knew that as well as she did. She made a series of barks and chirps. He responded with a few whistled notes and several clicks, all while steadily edging towards the doors.

Echo barked, and almost made a pass at him. He shot a glare at her, and heard Blue chirp in warning.

"Easy Tsuna. You're almost to the door," said Owen in a low voice, to avoid breaking his concentration.

The second he was past that boundary line between the real world and their pen, the trance was broken...and amazingly, the raptors lost all interest in him. They took off to other parts of the pen.

"That was ballsy kid. Seriously ballsy," said Owen. His voice was shaky, because he was openly terrified he was about to watch a kid he had quickly grown to like get mauled by the raptors.

"I... I just remembered what you told me," said Tsuna embarrassed.

"Oh I'm not complaining. You managed to walk backward through half that pen without once breaking eye contact and convinced Blue not to attack you. That took serious guts!" said Owen, openly impressed now that the kid was safe.

"Well it's not like they haven't been challenging me for weeks now."

"Is he alright?"

"I'm fine. Not even a scratch on me," Tsuna assured the man.

"So it can be replicated."

Vic Hoskins was someone Tsuna had developed an intense dislike of, for many reasons. The main one being that he saw the dinosaurs as weapons he could use to hurt others, instead of living creatures with actual feelings.

Tsuna gave him a stare down, and felt a great deal of satisfaction seeing the older man back off.

The man was a fake carnivore attempting to make himself look real by throwing his weight around and failing abysmally at it to boot.

Owen did his own stare down, but Hoskins was able to match him glare for glare.

"Only because Tsuna here kept getting into staring contests with the girls since his first day working at the pen, and because he remembered what I said about how I trained them. Didn't think they'd respond so well to whistling though."

"Raptors are more like birds than lizards, and a lot of bird calls can be replicated with whistling. And if you notice it often sounds like they're chirping at each other the way birds do too," said Tsuna.

"So how much longer until you have to return to school?" asked Owen.

"Actually I was supposed to be there last week. Fortunately I can skive off another month before I get into trouble for it. Not like the teachers I have will notice I'm missing."

Hibari would, but he might be able to bribe the violent teen with pictures of all four raptors. Apex carnivores and all that, ones that hadn't been seen by the public.

"Really?" said Owen dubiously.

"I cited problems getting the cash for the plane ticket home, as well as visa issues," shrugged Tsuna. All technically true.

"Well kid, I hope you the best of luck when you do go home. You're one of the best people we've had around the girls in a while, and they openly respect you almost as much as me."

"Think they'd hire me out of high school?" asked Tsuna.

"After that stunt? I wouldn't be shocked if they gave you a sign on bonus. Having someone else who can calm the girls down would be a major asset," said Owen seriously.

* * *

Tsuna looked at the paycheck in his hand, and then at the computer. He could go home with this money and return to a life where he was belittled, harassed and generally looked down upon by the entire town...or he could stick around and sign up for online high school. Even Hibari wouldn't come after him if he transferred out.

Who was he kidding? He liked the park a hell of a lot more than he did home and there was no way he was losing the progress he had made with Blue and the others.

How many people outside of Owen could say they had come face to face with a raptor and weren't attacked on sight?

Tsuna started filling out the application for the online school...and the papers to indicate he was transferring out of Namimori High. A few days later both went through, and he was officially free from his personal hell.

He just didn't expect the side effects of becoming a full time employee to turn out like this.

"So... you want me to raise an egg?" he said confused.

"You've displayed an uncanny amount of ability in handling large predators. The fact you can go into the raptor cage when one is loose is enough for me," said Mr. Masrani.

"What sort of animal is this?" asked Tsuna, looking inside the incubator.

"It's a special case," he replied, without saying what it was.

"...Do you want me to try and train both, or just one of them?" asked Tsuna.

"Both would be preferable, but if you can get one of them to listen the same way the raptors do, it would be considered a success. Your pay will be increased substantially, of course. And your security clearance will only be upgraded for this area and the raptor pen, within limits. If you need help, feel free to ask Mr. Grady for advice."

"Why do I have the feeling you mixed raptor DNA with something else?" asked Tsuna to no one in particular. He found it rather telling Mr. Masrani didn't try to deny it.

Still, it wasn't like the dinosaurs were dangerous until they were much bigger, and he could use the money.

In the end, Tsuna was now considered the "hybrid babysitter/trainer". At least he wouldn't be completely bored.

 _A few months later..._

Tsuna was in the egg room again. It annoyed Henry Wu and Hoskins to no end that he visited so often. In their minds, the Indominus Rex (he finally had a name for the new hybrids) was not a normal dinosaur and thus didn't have the same instincts as the others. Since they didn't want anyone to know about the new "asset" as Claire kept calling them that wasn't high enough to know what they were, the two "geniuses" decided it was a brilliant idea to keep them isolated.

Considering what Owen told him about how raptors and pretty much every _other_ dinosaur raised their eggs, he couldn't help but think keeping them away from the others was a horrible idea. After all, even human mothers talked to their children long before they actually came out. They might not remember the _words_ , but the feeling was still imprinted on the infants.

So Tsuna made it his self-imposed duty to visit every chance he had during his free time, and he would make a point to talk to the eggs, or sometimes hum songs for them.

He found it ironic that for some reason he kept humming the school song to Namimori Middle...that or he kept imagining the unhatched babies as little "demon prefects" about to bite him to death if he did something wrong.

Considering what they were made of, that was probably a better mindset than the ones that Hoskins and Wu had.

He almost stopped humming when he noticed one of the eggs starting to move. Then he thought the better of it, and started singing softly to the baby inside, to encourage it to come out.

For some reason, the first opening song to _"Attack on Titan"_ came to mind and he gently sang the lyrics to it. It seemed rather fitting, in an ironic way.

The egg paused, before it began to shake even more. Suddenly, a crack formed and a piece of the shell fell out.

A single blood red eye latched on to Tsuna, and unknown to the teenager his eyes began to glow a warm amber orange the color of twilight as he kept singing. Within moments the first egg broke apart, revealing the newly born infant.

It warbled curiously, following his every moment.

Tsuna kept the image of a cranky Hibari-sempai in mind as he clicked right back at it, using the same 'sounds' that had kept him from being mauled by raptors almost a year ago. He respected the predator before him, but he sure as hell wasn't about to let it treat him like prey.

He kept eye contact with the infant, even as the other egg began to hatch. Slowly, surely, he moved in a calm way so that he could come within eye contact with the other infant.

He never let the first one out of his sight, even as the second infant broke through and made eye contact with him. The second seemed gentler, far less bloodthirsty than the first.

" _Hello little ones. I'm Tsuna,"_ he said gently in Japanese.

Considering he knew for a fact Wu and Hoskins didn't speak the langauge this would be a great way to piss both off while still training the little ones to not turn him into prey. Besides, his English was barely passable to begin with.

The second infant trilled at him and Tsuna smiled. He gently reached out, and removed the eggshell on it's head. The two infants followed his every move intently.

He didn't know why, but the older sister gave him a bad vibe.

He reached out to the little ones, and kept crooning at them. He started stroking the younger one first, to show the first one he meant no harm. The moment the little one started almost _purring_ as he stroked it's skin, the older one imperiously demanded the same treatment.

Tsuna chuckled, and began petting them both.

However he never forgot that he was dealing with creatures that were far more like scaly versions of Hibari. They were alpha predators, and had to be treated with the same respect most people gave the demon prefect in a foul mood. If he slipped up, he would almost certainly be eaten...if only by the oldest one.

He didn't notice he fell asleep with the two little ones curled up against him...or that his eyes were still a warm orange color that seemed to seep into the two newly born infants.

It was to this scene that Wu and Mr. Masrani walked into the next morning.

* * *

Tsuna avidly watched his little 'sisters' as he began to think of them. He had noticed with some interest that the two were displaying a sort of intelligence that not even the raptor infants had at the same age, and they were barely a week old.

It unnerved Masrani how quickly they were displaying that sort of intelligence. At least with the raptors it took a few weeks before they started showing that level of observation.

Hone-On'na (the oldest, which meant "Bone Woman") and Yuki-On'na (the youngest, and it meant "Snow Woman"), eagerly lapped up the attention Tsuna gave them. He still found it annoying everyone kept mispronouncing Hone-On'na and calling her "Honey" for some reason. At least it was more original than what Owen named the raptor sisters! Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo were horrible names to give females!

At least Owen tried to call the older sister by her proper name. He mostly just called her 'Hon', instead though. He found the names Tsuna gave them a little amusing, since he was basing them off of Japanese mythology...and by their coloring. Hone was bone white and a bit more vicious than Yuki, who was more snow colored.

Owen was invaluable in helping Tsuna figure out how to train his new charges though. The sisters treated everyone outside of the teen as prey, especially Henry Wu.

He already had some vicious bite marks on his hand from mishandling them.

Tsuna grinned and pulled out a rope toy. While he treated the sisters like miniature Hibari, he noticed very quickly they enjoyed playing. Anything that involved physical exercise was something they took too really quickly.

Something like tug-of-war for instance.

Hone watched the toy with intent. It was very sturdy and the sort of rope used to tie the ships off at the dock. Yuki almost bounced eagerly when she saw it.

Tsuna tossed it to them, and immediately the sisters were on it. Hone more than Yuki. He learned very quickly that the older sister had less of the 'pack' mentality that the younger did. Yuki felt more like a 'beta', whereas Hone kept trying to establish herself as the alpha.

Tsuna couldn't help but wonder if something had gone wrong when they breed the older sister. Yuki was far easier to handle, despite the fact they were _supposed_ to be siblings.

Then again, for all his genius Henry Wu could be a complete idiot sometimes. He didn't care about the dinosaurs, just the thrill of the challenge it presented making them.

He just hoped that they didn't do anything stupid. Like separate the siblings.


	97. Prometheus Online Chapter One

"Welcome to the Realm of Flames!" said the woman. "Please follow me to fill your your registration forms!"

Reborn didn't know why he was even doing this. It was just a stupid game, but the lackey and Colonello wouldn't shut up about it.

It took Reborn a few moments to figure out how to fill the registration form, but when he did he noticed an immediate difference once it went through.

He had gone from "toddler" to something scarily similar to his original form before the curse.

Suddenly he understood why those two idiots wouldn't shut up about it.

He was also only in boxers.

"Where are my clothes?"

"Avatar customization right through this way!" said the far too chipper NPC.

It was a massive closet. There were all sorts of clothes, each with helpful labels to tell idiots what each door had behind it.

There was even a mirror to customize facial features, hair and eyes, and for some inane reason he didn't want to contemplate, skin tone that had some rather...odd...choices.

Seriously, who would want to give their avatar blue or orange colored skin that practically glowed in the dark?!

He selected something far more similar to what he would normally wear and was surprised and very pleased to find he could give himself the familiar side-burns. It just wouldn't feel right to walk around without them.

Adjusting the tie, Reborn looked at himself with satisfaction.

He almost went to exit the door he entered, until he spotted a new door with the words "Exit" in bright red colors that went by whatever language had been chosen at the start. For him it was in Italian.

"Welcome to the armory! Please pick your free starter weapon! At the end of the process you will be entered to win a free prize! Lucky users can win a familiar that suits their personality based on the initial questionnaires! Please note these familiars are not available for sale until _after_ they pass first twenty levels!"

Reborn blinked, but went and picked up a handgun that he was relatively familiar with.

"Please note that any weapons chosen by the user also come with a basic competency test! Multiple weapons are allowed!" said the NPC.

Reborn smirked at that, and swiftly picked up some of the other guns, including a sniper rifle and a mid-sized dagger.

The gun range was rather boring, but once he hit the required bull's eyes he was allowed to walk out with enough weapons to make even him happy.

"Welcome to the lottery! As a special promotion to all new users, you have a chance to win a useful familiar to help you gain EXP and loot! Give it a spin!"

Reborn took the handle, noting that it looked like one of those Japanese raffles where people turned the crank until a colored ball fell out.

He blamed Skull for recognizing what it was.

He swiftly turned the crank seven times, before removing his hand...and a gold colored ball fell out.

"Congratulations! You won a special familiar!" said the NPC.

She handed him an egg, which glowed a bright sunny color before hatching...to reveal a chameleon that bore a disturbing resemblance to Leon in the real world.

"Would you like to name your new animal companion?"

"Leon," he said simply. To further add to the surreal nature of the moment, the chameleon blinked just like Leon would before calmly walking onto his fedora when he lifted it up high enough. It settled into a familiar weight on his head.

The NPC lead him to the final exit for registration.

"Welcome, (Reborn), to the Realm of Flames in Prometheus Online!"

Reborn had to wonder if the creator of the game had made that reference to Greek/Roman mythology when they named it "Prometheus" or not.

He blinked for a moment as he exited the building, and looked up in the sky.

There was a bright sun glowing overhead...as well as an odd halo made of seven different, yet distinct colors that were connected by the orange. Flying above were birds that appeared to be crows of some sort.

"Yo, Reborn! Looks like you finally decided to join us, kora!" shouted Colonello.

He looked a lot like he would have as an adult, except he had a longbow slung across his back and some arrows. Next to him was a thief who had the familiar appearance of Skull.

"It's...different."

Skull looked at the chameleon on his hat and stared in disbelief.

"It happened to you too?!"

"What?"

"Your first familiar turned into something that looks _waaay_ too much like your real-life animal companion!" said Skull. He pulled out an octopus from behind his back that bore a strange resemblance to Oodako.

Colonello whistled sharply, and a bird that looked far too much like Falco easily flew out of the clouds and landed on his shoulder.

Reborn blinked.

"So what exactly is this game about anyway?"

Skull grinned and was about to go into detail before Colonello stopped him.

"He enjoys the game plot a bit too much. The basic gist is pretty similar to most RPG's. Go out, complete quests, join a guild...whatever. However in order to progress in the main plot you have to work towards locating the 'Princess' and breaking the curse on the land."

"Seriously?" said Reborn, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much. In order to get the _really_ good shit you have to do the plot quests, which surprisingly are well thought out and pretty fun once you learn to accept that weird shit is going to happen and there is nothing you can do about it but make the best of the situation..." admitted Colonello. He also glared at Skull. "This jackass just enjoys doing them because he enjoys the plot, not the loot we get out of it, but at least whoever made this place is 'nice' enough to give out loot that we can actually use almost right away...and if not then the 'special' stock is priced high enough to make it worth selling to another player for a really big payday."

"What do the familiars do?"

"Depends on what you get. Once Falco leveled up to twenty I was able to make him grow big enough to fly with, though I'm usually on his back and I have a 'linked sense' skill that allows me to see what he's seeing."

"Oodako is awesome! Their suckers allow me to cling to damn near anything and climb buildings without leaving a trace behind...and when it hit twenty it can turn into 'giant' size and follow commands like the real one can!" said Skull enthusiastically. "She also has the skill to hold extra items during raids like heal potions and extra ammo for Colonello."

"So they become extra useful at twenty?" asked Reborn.

"More like by the time they hit that point, you'll have upgraded their skills and unlocked new ones to make them too useful to actually sell."

"...Which means by the time you _can_ sell them, you have invested too much time and effort to make you willing to sell them in the first place. Sneaky," said Reborn in approval.

"Or you forget you can sell them in the first place," agreed Colonello. "I had to check I wasn't seeing things when I realized Falco had a _price_ on him after he hit twenty-one when I was selling crap."

Not that he would. He had grown very attached to his buddy.

"So what's with the odd halo above us?"

"It's part of the curse on the land!" said Skull, who was grinning widely.

Colonello shut him up quickly by covering Skull's mouth before he went into far too much detail.

"Someone took the whole 'Arcobaleno' curse and turned it into a 'plot line' for the game. Whenever you do the events you basically turn into a fake Arcobaleno for the duration before switching back. Or you can chose to become one from the start, but most people don't bother with it because it takes for freaking _ever_ just to get anywhere and a lot of the civvies who play have no idea what it's actually about. There was a lot of confusion about that before someone figured out why people kept turning into toddlers during those events," he said bluntly.

Reborn blinked. Twice.

"Then what's this about _breaking_ the curse?"

"I never got the full story on that, but you know the halo above us? Supposedly when all the lights glow with equal strength then it becomes a crown, breaking the curse permanently. Skull likes the princess plot, so I wasn't able to get much detail on the curse one as I would like."

"...Why would a game need two major story plots to follow?"

"Because they're tied together!" said Skull.

"Oh come on! I told you before if someone knew the way to break the curse we would have found out about it before now!" said Colonello irate.

"Lackey, explain."

"The missing Princess has the solution to the curse of the rainbow! If you can find her and get her to permanently join your party, then she will lead you to the secret text that breaks the curse and creates the crown that will free the land!" said Skull eagerly.

Seeing his confusion, Colonello elaborated.

"The 'missing princess' is a Sky, basically you have to harmonize with her or 'resonate' with her in order for the girl to join your party and reveal the text. Which is why I don't really get into the main plot that much to begin with. I prefer the curse missions more," he said, before pointing at the halo. "There's a persistent rumor that the 'orange' part of the halo is directly connected to her, or at least the part that isn't glowing with the rest."

"And the crows?"

"Messengers of the missing princess, and they're not normal crows! They're Yatagarasu!" said Skull cheerfully.

"What's the difference?"

"Yatagarasu are like minor kami with heavy ties to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. They provide guidance and act as symbols for rebirth and regeneration. Though since they're crows they like to play tricks, and they have three legs instead of the normal two."

"Basically they're the Japanese ayakashi equivalent of you as a three-legged crow," clarified Colonello bluntly. "And I still don't know how the hell you know they're not normal crows. Even Falco can't get near the stupid things!"

"Because one flew to me once!" said Skull.

"I call bullshit. Those things never come down. And the guns don't have the range to hit them!"

This was clearly a long-standing argument between them.

"So how does one do 'quests'?" asked Reborn, interrupting them.

Skull grinned and would have explained, but Colonello stopped him again.

"I'll take you to the 'Noob Fields'," said Colonello.

"'Noob Fields'?"

Skull snickered.

"The game creator has a really funny sense of humor. They _literally_ named the area for newbies to get their feet wet the 'noob fields'. It has all the standard quests for people who want to learn the basics until they reach a sufficient level of understanding that they won't die in the plot quests, and the other areas have a special lock on them to keep people from accessing areas _waaay_ above their skill or ability level. A lot of parents loved that bit, because it kept their kids from getting trolled by assholes who just intend to use them as meat shields while playing," said Skull.

"Don't forget the troll and 'gamer' filters," snickered Colonello.

"The _what_?" said Reborn.

"'The Troll' forces people who deliberately harass or target other players specifically for the purpose of being an asshole because they can into fighting an actual troll that is at _least_ twenty levels higher than them with the skill and abilities of a mid-level Boss monster. If they want to keep being a dick, then they have to beat the troll before they're allowed to bother the other player again. A lot of people were pissed off at that one, but then again the majority of them were assholes who buy games just to tear people down for their own sick amusement anyway."

"...And the 'gamer' filter?"

"Basically allows you to ignore messages automatically that have the really, really stupid 'nerd speak' from moronic mouth breathers who think 'LMAO' is how French people laugh. Believe me, a lot of the serious gamers were beyond happy they didn't have to read or hear that crap when they found out it was an option," said Colonello.

"I bet you anything they watch _SAO Abridged_ ," said Skull. "Because it sounds like something Kirito would have shelled out some serious cash in order to have!"

( _A/N:_ double reference to _SAO Abridged: episode 2!)_

Colonello snickered. That was a hilarious series.

"Remember that one quest where the NPC ditches you, and then you're allowed a subquest to hunt the asshole down even if he's with another player in order to make him suffer and his death slow and painful?"

"I know! That's why I said they have to be fans of the _Abridged_ series, since they even named that NPC Gary!"

Reborn...was completely lost.

On the plus side thanks to his natural skills he was able to 'level out' of the Noob Fields and allowed into the _actual_ quests by the end of the day. They were all so basic he would have left them much earlier if he was actually familiar with games.

Either way he sold everything he got out of those fields the first chance he had and joined the 'party' of Skull and Colonello, which meant they could give him some _actual_ armor and decent weapons until he was able to acquire something better himself.

* * *

Reborn was about to do a quest solo when he saw it. An odd black bird sitting on a tree.

Normally he would dismiss it as part of the scenery...except it had three legs. And he remembered what Skull had said about the 'birds' being a special sort of messenger.

The bird took note of his interest, because it cawed at him.

If he didn't know any better he would swear the thing just said "chaos" instead of a normal bird's call.

"Chaos," he said calmly.

The bird's eyes gleamed...before dropping something on the ground and flying back upwards until it vanished with the rest of the flock.

Blinking, Reborn picked up the item.

It was a scroll, one that had a sub-quest attached to it.

When he showed it to Skull and Colonello, the two of them gaped at him.

"No way... you got a limited edition sub-quest from one of the crows?!"

"I told you those things weren't normal crows!" said Skull triumphantly, after Reborn commented on the three legs.

"According to this we'll need at least four or five people if we want to accept it," said Reborn.

"I can get Lal. She comes in all the time to vent her frustration over her boss and see things explode," said Skull. Seeing the look on their faces, Skull chuckled nervously. "She comes in at really weird hours and she has your character 'flagged' so she doesn't have to run into you."

Colonello pouted. He had no idea Lal was in the game too.

"I don't feel like dealing with Verde and Viper has been missing for a while... anyone know where Fon is?" asked Colonello.

"I can contact him and see if he's interested. If nothing else he should have fun wandering around as an adult for a while and we can see if he gets his familiar at the start too," said Reborn.

It took only a few days before Fon agreed to give it a try...once they mention the special PVP arenas that would allow him to fight his grandson as an adult, which would make the rather prickly Cloud very happy even if he had to play a game to do it.


	98. Pride Before the Fall Chapter One

If there was one thing Renato Sinclair had in spades, it was _pride_. And arrogance, but that tied into his pride so it was simply tacked on regardless.

There had never been a mission he had failed, and if there was then he went out of his way to either have a very good explanation why or he would keep at it until he succeeded.

Generally speaking though, the only time he 'failed' to kill a target was when the client got cold feet and called him off. Usually because said target or their famiglia tracked down the client and _made_ them call off the hit.

In which case it wasn't his problem anymore, save to demand a very hefty severance pay for wasting his time. No one wanted to piss off Sinclair after the first two attempts and the example he made of them.

Back to his pride though.

Renato was many things, but a fool had never been one of them. He _knew_ the client had been keeping something from the dossier he had been given, however his instincts hadn't told him it was a trap of any kind. More like a great annoyance.

Staring down the woman before him, who had been sending various alarms down his spine the second he saw her in person, Renato pulled the trigger without any iota of pity or remorse.

The woman managed to _move_ just enough that he failed to get a proper headshot in, but she was still a dead woman regardless. She would simply have to endure a few more minutes of suffering that he would have spared her if she had stayed still.

The woman coughed, blood appearing in her hand from the punctured lung. She had very little time to live, and she glared at him with untold fury.

"You think you've won, _Renato Sinclair_?" she coughed.

"If you want to live a few minutes more, I wouldn't talk," he commented.

"If I'm to die, then I'm damn well taking you with me, hit man," sneered the woman.

Renato smirked.

"I'd like to see you try with that hole in your chest."

The woman tried to cackle at him, but considering she was bleeding out rather quickly she couldn't.

"Oh I don't need to be alive to insure your demise. You fools are all alike...you assume yourselves as kings simply because no one has ever challenged you since you made your mark on the world. You never show the proper respect to the old ones," said the woman. The light in her eyes was fading fast. She had a minute, maybe two before she was dead.

Her eyes cleared up enough for Renato to take her seriously as a threat. Something wasn't right... he could sense a _power_ gathering behind her and it just needed a direction.

"I curse you, Renato Sinclair. I curse you to suffer as a feral beast. If you cannot find true love's kiss in the hands of a Sky strong enough to harmonize with you in three years time, you will be cursed to forever remain a beast in mind and body, only capable of mindlessly killing any you come into contact with."

Renato felt _something_ latch on to his Flames, and suddenly he had a very foreboding feeling as to what the client had left out.

The woman let out one last gasp, before dying. Either way, she had gotten the final laugh.

Renato's first act upon receiving payment was to find a certain Mist known to have extensive knowledge of the underworld. His victim was a minor Mist, but she was still well known enough that she would have gotten on Viper's radar.

"Mu. Time is money, do not waste mine," said Viper.

"I need information on Madeline Marsetti," said Renato bluntly.

"...Didn't you already kill her? Why would you need information on a corpse?" asked Viper openly confused.

"My client left something out, and my target said something about a curse."

Viper looked right at him in disbelief, before sighing.

"You've really screwed up now. Madeline was a minor Mist flame of little skill and ability...and a descendant of gypsies," said Viper.

If Renato had any doubts that he had screwed up, they were gone now. Even he knew that a gypsy death curse was serious business. And every instinct he had was warning him he had royally screwed the pooch when that woman died.

"What exactly did she curse you with anyway?" asked Viper.

"She said I would become a mindless beast unless I found 'true love's kiss from a Sky strong enough to harmonize with me' in three years," said Renato.

"...You're fucked then," said Viper.

Skies had been trying to pull Sinclair in as their Sun for _years_ since he started making waves. Not even the Vongola had any luck, though the Eigth had come close. Add into that "true love's kiss", which anyone with half a brain could tell you was a myth... Renato might as well write up his will now, because there was no way he was getting rid of that curse.

Renato said nothing, having come to that conclusion himself.

Finding a Sky strong enough to pull him in and hold him as a Guardian was a near impossible task in itself. But the mere notion of true love was something he had played around with as a way to pull women into his bed and never actually believed it existed. He was considered a playboy for a very good reason.

* * *

Hope was having a very good day, even if she found certain customers very annoying to deal with.

Working as a barista was tiring, but the tips more than made it worth the headaches. Even if she really, really wanted to punch the lights out of some people.

Most people would think having such an overstuffed tip jar to be a good thing. She found it very annoying because it was always far too heavy and it made the other servers jealous beyond belief. Especially when they couldn't hope to replicate whatever it was she was doing to earn so much.

As she entered the apartment complex where she lived, she had to sigh.

 _He_ was back again. Most women would be _thrilled_ to have such a handsome, sexy man living right next door to them. She would openly admit he was excellent eye candy and everything good girls shouldn't want in a man.

But his personality left much to be desired.

"Another day at work, Kitten?" purred her neighbor, taking her right hand and kissing it lightly.

"If you keep your snark and flirting to a minimum, you monumental pain in the ass, then I _may_ feed you and deliver the 'ambrosia' you desire," she replied back without a hint of the usual lust he garnered with that move.

"Your words wound me kitten," purred her neighbor.

His voice alone was sin itself, and coupled with his looks meant he was never lacking in bed partners.

She was certain the _only_ reason he kept flirting with her like this was because she refused to sleep with him. He wasn't used to having an actual challenge when it came to his women.

Renato's eyes glinted with dark amusement as he followed her into the apartment. She might find his flirting annoying, but after the first time she smelled his attempts at cooking she took pity on him. If only so he would tone down all the innuendo when they ran into each other in the hallway. At least it got him to quit stalking her at work, which she chalked up as a win.

He was still amazed she was able to brew a cup of "ambrosia" to the point he'd convert to whatever gods she worshiped for a steady supply of it.

Hope did not understand what his fascination with coffee was, nor did she care to. She was firmly a tea drinker, mainly because it didn't remind her of work.

Renato sighed as he drank his coffee.

"Marry me, kitten."

Hope gave him a flat look.

"If I actually thought you _meant_ it, I would consider it," she shot back. "I refuse to be another one of your flings."

Renato gave her a pout when she said that...though they both knew he hadn't meant a word of it. It had become a game between them.

He went back to his own apartment once he finished eating. Hope watched him with some concern, as she sensed things weren't entirely well with her annoying neighbor.

She sighed...when was that fool going to notice the truth?

 _With Renato..._

He left claw marks on his bedroom walls again. It was manageable at first, but things had gotten bad.

Every time he saw Hope, he wanted to ravage her, devour her, eat her alive... with or without her consent. It was becoming a problem every time he was close to her.

His 'animal instincts', as a certain annoying Storm had put it when he found out about the curse, were starting to take over completely. He barely had two months left before the unofficial deadline.

Renato never had any hope of breaking the curse on his body. He already had to hide the more...physical...aspects that had started four months ago.

He removed his fedora, revealing a pair of soft black ears that swiveled this way and that. His hearing had improved to the point it was almost _painful_ , and his eyesight had sharpened considerably. The tail that wrapped around his waist in place of a belt was annoying, and very soft to the touch...more than once he had gotten a hard on simply from washing the damn thing from how sensitive it was.

Renato checked his teeth. He had noticed a bit of blood a few days ago, and now that he was looking for it he could see his canines were starting to sharpen into fangs.

He had started looking into what animal he was going to be cursed as for the short period of time he had left once the deadline ended. So far all he could narrow it down to was some form of large cat, likely a panther.

He just hoped Fon upheld his end of the agreement and put him out of his misery once his time was up. He refused to allow this wretched curse to rob him of his humanity...even if it meant arranging his own death once the curse ran it's course.

Renato clutched the frame of the door. His body was wracked with pain and agony as the curse tried to strip him of what little humanity he could retain considering the line of work he did.

Strangely, the first thing that came to mind as he fought the effects of the curse was his neighbor, Hope.

Every time he was around her, he felt somewhat lighter.

She wasn't some great beauty...she was very cute and definitely his type, but he had seen beautiful women before. They had all fallen to his charms and revealed their true nature underneath...all of them had been quite shallow in the end, making his interest very fleeting.

She wasn't rich or well off...she worked in a decently sized coffee shop and lived in a second-class apartment. She never wore the latest fashions or showed any interest in material things like jewels or technology. She was content living a modest life within her means.

She was rather blunt around him and made no bones she found him very irritating to deal with on his worst days. Rather than fall prey to his good looks and charm, she called him out on his crap and didn't hesitate to dump things on him like cold coffee or water when he got on her nerves too much. She had a fiery passion in her soul that appealed to him greatly...and she presented a challenge the likes of which he hadn't seen since he first hit puberty and learned how to entice women into his bed for a quick tumble.

There was a strange attraction towards her he couldn't explain. Either way he knew one thing...he wanted to at least properly kiss her before his time was up. He refused to have that sort of thing be his last regret in life.

Renato sank into his bed, as the pain started to abate just a little. The gypsy he killed was certainly a vindictive bitch to lay something like this on him. He almost wished he could bring her back to make her suffer twice as much agony as he was going through.

* * *

 _A week later..._

Renato was sluggish, which was understandable with the amount of blood he had lost from an attack he should have been able to dodge...if that damn curse hadn't acted up at the worst time. His left arm had a nasty gash on it, on top of two bullet holes in his shoulder.

His Flames were keeping the worst of it at bay, but he was in bad shape.

The door opened, revealing a very upset Hope. Renato didn't even try to flirt...he was having trouble staying awake at the moment.

The hit man barely reacted to her gently guiding him into her apartment, and getting his shirt off. She hissed with sympathy at the sight of the wounds, but with quiet efficiency got some warm water and a clean cloth.

Renato faded in and out of consciousness as she carefully cleaned the wound, removed the bullets, and then got out some needle and thread.

"This is going to hurt. If you want some of my higher proof liquor to dull the pain I can get it for you," she offered in a soothing voice.

"I can handle it," said Renato, his voice slurring somewhat.

"I know you can, but that doesn't mean you have to when you have something to take your mind off of it for a bit."

He felt her press a glass to his lips, and when he took a sip it was some high proof scotch...the good kind. It helped to dull the pain a bit as she started to stitch up the gash on his arm.

"I am _not_ washing off the blood you have on you. If you want to get cleaned up you'll have to clean yourself," said Hope flatly.

Renato managed to amble towards the shower, and after a few moments soaking in the heat washed off the worst of the grime. His shirt was a lost cause, but he had known that from the beginning. His mind was fully on autopilot at the moment.

He barely registered being coaxed into a bed, and was out cold within seconds of hitting the pillow. He didn't notice the warm body curled up against him, sharing body heat.

Renato woke up a few days later...and found a certain young lady sound asleep with her top half on the bed and the rest on a chair. He looked and noticed a small bowl with cool water and a cloth, and realized his head was slightly damp.

Hope woke up and yawned.

"You're finally awake? That fever was really worrying...it spiked far too much," she said tiredly.

"You...took care of me? Why?" said Renato openly confused. This wasn't how things normally went.

Hope would annoy him and turn down his flirting without hesitation. She fed him out of pity and made coffee just to shut him up. She barely tolerated his minor obsession with her from what he knew.

So why was she there?

"You're the idiot who was so out of it from blood loss and minor poisoning that you followed orders on autopilot. I'm just glad you weren't so out of it that I had to bathe you before you crashed in my bed," said Hope bluntly.

She picked something up from the night stand. It was two bullets.

"Here. I pulled these out of you two days ago when you nearly collapsed in my living room."

Renato stared at them, and at her.

"You're surprisingly calm about pulling bullets out of me."

Hope looked him dead in the eye with a flat expression.

"Omerta."

Renato very nearly went ramrod straight when she said that...if he wasn't feeling like crap and still very weak.

"Vindice?" he asked.

"Just because I work in a coffee shop doesn't mean I have no connection to the Cosa Nostra. And a friend of mine was more than happy to give me a full dossier on who you were when I mentioned you being my neighbor. Only an idiot would live next door to the next Greatest Hit Man and _not_ take precautions like having a full first aid kit with some less than legal items in it," Hope replied bluntly.

Renato was floored...his cute, innocent little neighbor knew exactly who and what he was...and he had no idea she only barely skirted the definition of a civilian.

He fully expected her to kick him out now that he was awake. So he was very surprised when instead she came back into the room with some orange juice and a thick stew in a bowl.

"I'm not cruel enough to make you leave when you're nowhere near fighting strength."

"I thought you hated me."

"You're an idiot," said Hope flatly. "If you can't see the obvious right in front of you the entire time."

Honestly, how did Renato miss the fact she had been courting him as a potential Element? Was he _that_ blind to the truth?

There was one thing that bugged her though...

"Why do you have cat ears and a tail?" she asked.

Renato sweatdropped and refused to answer...though he would deny purring when she gave into temptation and started stroking his ears _just_ right. She was far too good at it, and Renato was a happy puddle of goo in her arms. If it was possible he would have curled up in her lap like a cat.

It was to the point his tail uncoiled from around him and moved in lazy patterns on the bed. When she reached for it, Renato almost felt his limited control snap like a brittle twig.

If only she was a Sky capable of breaking this damn curse...he'd happily follow her forever.


	99. Breaking the Gilded Cage Chapter One

"Grandpa... what is this?"

In the little girl's hands was an odd pendant of sorts with strange writing. It didn't look Japanese at all, and there was a funny symbol in the middle, with the writing around it in a circle. The entire pendant was made of something that looked a lot like precious metals.

"That is something that belonged to your grandmother, Reiko. She inherited it from her mother, so that she always remembered who she came from. Even though she was the oldest, her younger sister took over the family. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that," he replied.

"I have a great aunt?" said the girl, all wide eyed innocence and amazement.

"Great Aunt Luce. I believe she had a daughter a little older than you...something to do with music if I recall correctly."

"Wow!" said the child.

Her grandfather chuckled indulgently.

"You may have that if you wish. Just don't let the other kids see it or they may become jealous."

"Okay!" said the child, losing interest...but not before slipping the pendant around her neck.

 _Later that night..._

"So I'm related to Yuni by Luce? Wish I had known that the first time...would have saved me a lot of grief," mused the child.

Where the 'innocence' had been was replaced by tired maturity. It would be hard to believe that the little girl who had excitedly inquired about an odd pendant she stumbled across was only six, if one were to observe her now.

Natsume rolled to her side on the futon. Under the light of the moon she could clearly make out the odd writing on the pendant...which she easily identified as Italian. She was just as familiar with the symbol in the center. It belonged to the Giglio Nero famiglia in Italy.

That could explain why Reiko's gift had been so strong. The Giglio Nero's bloodline was directly related to Sepira, who had the ability to see into the future up until her death. Add in whoever her maternal grandfather was, and Reiko likely got a double dose of the Sight on top of her unusually strong spiritaul powers.

Natsume gazed at the pendant, which she suspected was genuine gold and possibly silver or white gold. It was fairly obvious why Reiko had this... if her flames ever awakened she would need the pendant to prove to the Vindice and possibly any Triads that stumbled across her that she wasn't a 'free Element'. From what Natsume could tell, based off the echoes of memories from the Book and what the youkai could tell her about Reiko, odds were that she was a Cloud or a Mist.

She was betting on Cloud though. Reiko was too strong willed and disinclined to socializing with normal humans to be a Mist.

Natsume clutched the pendant tightly. She had to keep this safe...because if things happened the same way it did before, she would need this to get away from the 'fate' destined for her.

As it was, she needed to think of a convincing 'story' to explain to her grandfather's relatives so they wouldn't send her back to her mother.

Nana was a nice enough woman, but thanks to Iemitsu she was barely acceptable as a mother. Any emotional support was cut off shortly after she was turned seven when Iemitsu visit ended.

Nana might not admit it, but she blamed her daughter's inability to do _anything_ right as the cause for why her father never stuck around. And when that 'belief' was confirmed by her utter failure in school, Nana fully gave up on her daughter accomplishing _anything_.

No matter what, she had to avoid that house and Iemitsu!

 _Some time later..._

"What a tragedy, for Natsume to lose their grandfather so young..."

"What are we to do with the child though?"

"I cannot take him at this time, we cannot afford it."

"What of the boy's mother?"

Natsume knew this was the critical moment. She had to act _perfectly_ in order to avoid that house and her fate.

The moment they attempted to take her back to Namimori, she acted terrified.

"Ne, Natsume? Whatever is the matter? Don't you want to go home?" asked his distant cousin.

Natsume shook her head emphatically.

"Mama let the bad people in, and didn't believe me."

That got their attention.

"What bad people?" asked Aunt Yoriko. Being surrounded by so many relatives, this was her best chance to spread this particular rumor about Nana and insure she didn't return.

"Mama's husband brought a strange foreign man with him that I never saw before, shortly before I was sent to live with grandpa. He told me I had to call him grandpa too, but something felt wrong with him," said Natsume honestly. She shivered in fear and disgust. "The strange man came into my room one night and did something funny. I don't remember what it was, but I started tripping over things when they finally left. The teachers were unhappy by the way my grades dropped so soon after their visit, so they sent me to live with grandpa. But Mama didn't believe me when I said the old man was in my room. She said her husband wouldn't bring someone bad with him to visit and refused to listen."

All quite true, save for one small detail. Timoteo had never gone into her room, and her grades dropping was because of the seal he placed on her as a child. However he _was_ the cause of why she suddenly went from a bright, happy child to a introverted one who shied away from others, and why her grades suddenly dropped like a stone.

Which were roughly the same signs one would see if a child was heavily traumatized by something, hence why she was sent to live with her maternal grandfather since her mother wouldn't listen to reason.

Add in her ability to see ayakashi, and her childhood had not been fun at all. Nana openly believed her only child was a horrible liar.

Seeing the looks of the adults, it didn't take much for them to opt in waiting before taking her 'home'.

Less than a week later, she was sent to live with a distant cousin. Apparently enough of her story rang 'true' that they couldn't in good conscience send her home...especially when Nana admitted her husband was planning to make a visit since she recently lost her father.

After hearing Natsume's story about the "strange man", none of her distant relatives wanted her to be exposed to Iemitsu twice.

 _Natsume, age nine..._

The miko was rather strange. Even though everyone could see her, there was something 'off' about her. She was also handing something to the patrons of the shrine to 'drum up business'. By all appearances it appeared to be small charms inside boxes.

Natsume walked up to the miko.

"Auntie, what are you handing out?" she asked innocently.

While being shuffled around different families sucked, it was better than having to worry about that fate repeating itself.

The miko smiled at her, and for a moment there was a really powerful presence behind her. However it felt warm and comforting like sunlight, so Natsume wasn't afraid.

"What an adorable child," said the miko. She reached into the bag and pulled out another box.

To the outside observer, it appeared to be the same as all the other boxes. But to Natsume, who could See things no one else could, it glowed from an internal light.

"Can you keep a secret, little one? Inside the box is a special gift...however you shouldn't open it just yet. If you do, then the gift will weaken and go away."

Natsume took the box with utter seriousness.

"When should I open it, Auntie?" she asked.

"When the time is right, I'll let you know. Until then keep it safe," said the miko with a smile.

"Okay Auntie, I promise to keep it safe and not open it until you tell me to!" said Natsume.

Natsume put the box next to the odd book of 'scribbles' made by Reiko.

In her previous life, that book had caused no end of trouble for her until it suddenly went missing. She still had no idea what it was, just that it was important to the ayakashi for some reason.

She didn't notice the gentle way the miko smiled, like an indulgent parent that watched over it's child.

Only time would tell if the little girl would keep her promise.

 _Natsume, age eleven..._

It felt like the walls were closing in. Invisible chains were slowly starting to coil around her, ensnaring her in order to drag her soul into a gilded cage from where there was no escape.

It would be three years before she was the same age she had been at when Reborn showed up in her life and dragged her into that hell, even if it didn't look like it at the time. She didn't blame him though...not until the end when his arrogance and inability to realize there was something 'off' about her caused him to go too far.

Even then she didn't hate him. She hated the Vongola and the Ninth generation.

Natsume was about to head to school when she spotted a familiar face. Well, more like she sensed the aura of the miko she had met a few years (and five families) ago.

She kept looking straight ahead, and barely registered the light 'bump' the presence gave her.

It wasn't until she got back to the house that she realized something.

The ribbon around the little box she had carried around for so long was undone. She had never opened it, and she had moved to another area by the next morning after receiving it. As far as they knew, it was something of Reiko's. It was so boring that no one bothered it.

Natsume carefully opened the box.

Inside was a small set of bracelets, each with a set of golden colored beads. They were too small to wear around her neck, but she could possibly slip them around her wrists and ankles.

Slipping them on, she could feel a strange power welling from inside the beads. When the last one was in place, she felt something strange.

"Why...am I...so dizzy..."

Natsume blacked out. Strangely, she wasn't afraid in the least.

Unseen by the occupants of the house, a figure approached the sleeping girl.

" _ **What an honest child...to have kept that promise. I will not allow those foolish outsiders to write your destiny for you. Consider this my gift to you for keeping the promise you made."**_

The beads around her wrists and ankles glowed like sunlight, before sinking into Natsume's body. They would remain unseen for now, hiding her from those that came from the West who wished to use her as a puppet. The figure paused, before a sly smirk appeared on her face.

" _ **Perhaps you can be the next inheritor of those powers..."**_

The pre-teen sound asleep on the futon already had great spiritual abilities, but she had limited knowledge of how to use them correctly. She was barely able to fend off the ayakashi that came after her as it was now.

The figure gently touched the girl's forehead, allowing a light to sink into her mind. On the desk, they placed a brush and special gourd that was full of black ink.

To anyone else, it was an ordinary object to be dismissed...but in the hands of a child as strong as Natsume, combined with the "knowledge" the figure had implanted, it could be a powerful tool and weapon.

Even if the child wasn't capable of using the sword to it's fullest extent, the original gift was sufficient enough to work along with the brush and ink.

Now to guide young Natsume to the one who had the closest bloodline, and finally give her a place she could potentially call home.

 _The next morning..._

Natsume woke up and felt a strange unseen presence had been there.

Mostly because the first thing she saw was that the odd bracelets and anklets had disappeared, and in their place was a strange brush and gourd. Closer inspection revealed the gourd to be full of black ink.

For some reason, she "knew" if she were to add some of her own blood, the gourd and brush would be bound to her, allowing her to use it against the ayakashi that harassed her.

The thing that Natsume noticed the most was the fact that the invisible chains that had been weighing her down felt lightened. Almost as if they weren't there anymore.

She didn't know who or _what_ that presence was, but if they were able to keep the Vongola from claiming her like they did the first time then she was grateful for it.

Somehow, she had the feeling that running into Touko-san less than a week later was also because of the presence. She could only hope things turned out better.

Natsume stared at the figure in the checkered mask.

"Why me?" she asked.

As far as she knew, the seal was firmly in place and Aria was the next in line for the cursed artifact.

So why did Kawahira approach _her_ instead?

"You have the strongest flames in this generation. Now that Luce is gone, only two may possess this artifact."

Between Aria and Natsume, they were of roughly equal strength.

Natsume looked at the seemingly innocent item.

"If I take this... will the other person be spared?" she asked quietly.

She wasn't afraid of death. She knew in her heart she would likely die young like Reiko had. After all, there was a curse to her bloodline that had followed her for years.

She was just surprised Kawahira had noticed her strength in the first place, since she was supposed to be sealed.

Could the presence which sent Touko-san her way be the cause? Was it possible the seal was gone?

"If you take this pacifier, you will bear a great burden. However the other party who would have inherited it will be spared... I cannot say the same about any children they may have."

"Then I don't mind taking on the burden," said Natsume with a quiet smile.

She was nothing but a burden on others anyway. If taking on the Arcobaleno curse meant Aria would have a chance to live, then she would do it happily. After all, it wasn't like she had anyone who needed her like Aria did.

Kawahira took _one_ look at that smile, and was immediately reminded of Sepira. While he knew the girl before him was of Giotto's bloodline, there was something in her gaze that felt familiar.

"What family do you belong to?" he asked, curious.

Natsume took out the pendant she always kept under her shirt.

"Grandpa said this belonged to Grandma Reiko. But I still can't read it just yet!" she said cheerfully.

One look told Kawahira all he needed to know. No wonder the little one reminded him of Sepira...she was related to the Giglio Nero! He knew all of Giotto's descendants, which meant the lineage must be on the side of the mother.

Kawahira gently ruffled Natsume's head.

"Keep this safe, little one. It's your responsibility now."

 _In Italy..._

"What do you mean the pacifier wasn't passed on to you?" said Reborn in shock.

"That man appeared and took the pacifier before I could. He said there was another who qualified and accepted the burden," said Aria.

While she was grateful she wouldn't bear her mother's curse, this meant that an unknown now had the Sky pacifier. It was likely they had no idea what it was or the implications of what having it meant!

And that man was of no help...all he would say is that one of Luce's bloodline was the new Sky Arcobaleno.

"Do you have any idea who _does_ have it?" asked Verde.

Aria shook her head.

"All I can tell is that it's a young girl, but I can't _see_ her. I think something is blocking my visions from getting a good look at who it is."

"Is that possible?" asked Reborn.

"I couldn't see Checkerface chosing someone else, and up until now I've always seen the moment the curse is passed on to me. But the power required to block my sight this effectively... whoever or whatever it is, I don't think it's human. It's something else."

Either way, Aria planned to start digging into her mother's past. Checkerface had all but confirmed that the new Sky _was_ a member of the Giglio Nero and that she was connected to Luce. Which meant there had to be some documentation to prove it.

Even if the new Sky wasn't related to her by blood, Aria would have adopted her into the family anyway. After all, _everyone_ knew that the Sky Arcobaleno often came from their bloodline.


	100. Wolf's Den Chapter One

The bar didn't look like much. There was a certain haze about the place that came from multiple smokers in the same general area, but the bar was equipped with a special air filter to keep it from becoming stifling while at the same time allowing those who smoked to enjoy their vice in peace. There were tasteful flowers placed in various places around the bar which added a pleasant scent to the air and added to the ambiance. The food was relatively cheap, very filling and was always cooked properly. There were even booths in the back where one could drink in peace...or more likely, hold a few discreet meetings and deals without being bothered by the other customers.

The back of the bar was lit up enough to highlight the special booze that was higher priced than anything under the counter, but at the same time was dim enough not to be overbearing. Everything was properly clean and tidy, and the air around the place was calm and relaxed. The background music was set at a volume where it could be enjoyed and heard properly, but was unlikely to drown anyone out if they spoke in a quiet voice. It was generally set to classical, rather than anything newer.

This was the sort of place people came to drown their sorrows in peace and without fear of being judged by anyone. Where those who made a living killing others could relax properly and just unwind.

It was little wonder that the place was considered an 'unofficial' mafia hot spot for the older crowd, where they could get a break from the hotshot idiots that liked the fast pace far too much and burned too quickly to be of any importance.

The Wolf's Den was considering the best place to have a quiet drink and just relax for the older mafioso, who didn't put nearly as much stock in flames as the younger generation did.

A calm figure shook a drink to order, before pouring it into a clean glass.

It was a young woman in her early twenties, with caramel-brown hair, warm amber-colored eyes, and features that hinted at a mixed heritage. She held herself proudly, but without arrogance. Her clothes were neat and clean, but not fashionable. She also wore an apron in the event of accidental spills.

She glanced at the bar and determined that the level of cleanliness was suitable enough before heading into the kitchen to check on them. As she passed by the booth nearest the kitchen door, she glanced briefly at the cloaked figure doing accounting.

The figure did not acknowledge the owner, or even look up from their books. Nor did they look up when the owner returned with a kettle of tea and a small platter of snacks.

The bartender quietly went back to what they were doing, allowing one of the strays that hung around the bar to go around collecting empty glasses, or brought fresh ones to the patrons. It was all quiet and very discreet, with very little word exchanged.

Rather, the patrons would leave money under the glass to indicate they wanted another and would tip the one collecting glasses appropriately if they were inclined.

The door opened, and a man wearing a black three-piece suit and black fedora entered. Behind him was an Asian man of roughly the same age wearing some traditional red outfit, long braid and calm hazel eyes.

The bartender went from peaceful and calm to annoyed.

"Sinclair, I have told you before I'm not going to sleep with you so why do you keep bothering my peaceful bar?" she drawled.

The Asian smiled with amusement at the irritated expression on Sinclair's face.

The two sat at the bar, and she turned to the long-haired man.

" _Hello. What would you like to drink? We do offer some Chinese and Japanese dishes as well, if you're interested,"_ she said politely in Mandarin.

The man's eyes light up with delight.

" _Do you serve Mapo Tofu_?" he asked hopefully in the same language.

"We might have enough for a few servings of that," she replied, enjoying the irritation Sinclair's face. "And forgive me for saying this, but you don't appear to be a complete _heathen_ like this idiot. Would you like some tea? We have green, several varieties of black and I believe we still have some Oolong if Viper hasn't drank it all."

"I heard that," said the figure in the corner with a tea pot

"I know," said the woman with amusement. Viper grumbled, and bit into their food viciously.

"Mapo tofu and some oolong," said the man with delighted amusement.

"I am _not_ a heathen."

"You practically worship ground beans. That automatically makes you a heathen," she shot back.

"At least I don't drink soggy leaves!" Sinclair countered.

"Yes, but humans have been drinking tea leaves for much longer than _coffee_ ," she hissed at him. "At least tea only needs to be dried, whereas coffee requires too much preparation to be usable!"

"Coffee is a sophisticated drink, tea is for plebians!"

The Asian watched the by-play with utter amusement on his face. He was not the only one.

"Actually Renato, monks have been drinking tea for thousands of years," he said. Renato shot him a look of utter betrayal.

"Besides, last I checked coffee never played a role in major incidents that escalated into wars," she added.

Seeing the confused expression on his face, she replied smugly "The Boston Tea party and the Opium Wars."

Renato sulked, having lost that particular argument while the man beside him chuckled with open amusement.

When the man started eating his meal, his eyes light up with open delight and he dug in with considerable enthusiasm.

"Where are my manners. My name is Fon."

"Are you sure it's not Feng?" said the woman with amusement.

His eyes brightened a little, mostly because she actually pronounced it correctly.

"Unfortunately Westerners are more inclined to mangle it. I've learned to tolerate being called Fon," he replied.

"I don't believe this. I bring you here to translate half those cryptic sentences she uses on me and you two hit it off like long lost friends!" scowled Renato sulking.

Seeing Fon's interest, the woman smirked.

" _Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting_ ," she said in Mandarin.

Fon couldn't help the laugh that broke out. No wonder Renato was becoming frustrated!

"Indeed, I find it far more amusing to win the battle before a the first punch is thrown. Though I am curious as to why you regard Renato as an enemy in the first place."

She chuckled darkly.

"Have you seen his bad habits regarding women? He's so used to being the wolf that he's having trouble dealing with the clever kitsune nipping at his flanks and denying him entry."

Fon chuckled, while Renato scowled.

"I'm afraid old friend that you have met your match. It would seem you have your work cut out for you in regards to this one," said Fon with fake sincerity.

She snickered at the put-upon expression on his face.

"I'm being ganged up on," he complained.

"But if we didn't tag team against you, then your ego would run rampant," she replied.

Fon was endlessly entertained by the woman. He could see why Renato continued to pursue her... he was so used to having women fall over themselves just to enter his bed that he had forgotten was a proper chase felt like.

Though he was able to confirm one thing that had bugged the hell out of Renato every time he heard it.

"So? What is it that she keeps muttering under her breath every time I frustrate her?" asked Renato as they left the bar.

"'Amaterasu, mother of all and origin of all that is good, grant me the patience to deal with this arrogant ass just a little bit longer'," translated Fon with considerable amusement.

"Who?" said Renato.

"Your bartender is Japanese and a Shintoist. She's praying to the primary goddess of the Japanese pantheon for patience," explained Fon.

"Shintoist?"

"The primary religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism, though the two had become heavily intertwined at this point. Shinto is more about honoring the gods and one's ancestors, rather than a singular god. There are quite literally hundreds of minor gods, but Amaterasu rules over all of them as the Sun Goddess," explained Fon.

Renato was fascinated.

"So what are you?"

"Buddhist," said Fon.

Either way, his interest had become piqued towards the bartender.

Though he had to wonder if Renato had realized she was unconciously courting him as a Guardian yet. It had taken him a few hours to figure out why the atmosphere was so relaxed, regardless of who entered...but when it did his jaw had almost dropped in astonishment.

Who would have expected an Active Sky to be content running a simple bar?

* * *

She smiled when he came in. He was unsurprised that she had sensed him... he had detected that underneath the Sky flame that had saturated the area was a strong undercurrent of Cloud. Clearly this was her territory, but unlike most Clouds she was open to the idea of allowing other actives in her area.

Fon smiled calmly in return. He had heard a few stories from Renato about how she had calmly thrown out troublemakers before any of the patrons had to get involved.

The woman had no idea that any number of her customers would happily "deal" with such idiots for her if asked. The bar was practically a sanctuary where one could go in and relax against the harsh realities of the world. The fact she took initiative and threw them out herself without asking for help just meant they respected her a bit more.

Considering the number of Skies he had contact with that relied primarly on their Elements for protection, it was a very nice change of pace. Particularly since she wasn't trying to force a bond that wasn't there.

"You know I never did get your name."

"That's because I never gave it. Not even Renato has managed to get it out of me. Everyone just calls me 'Boss', including the patrons," she replied.

Fon's eyes glinted with amusement.

" _I would think 'princess' would suit you better,"_ he said in Japanese.

She almost beamed at him for correctly guessing her nationality, likely from her usual prayer for patience whenever Renato tested her nerves too much...except the title caught her off guard.

" _Why 'princess'?"_

" _Isn't that what you would normally call a Sky? I'll admit, it took me a bit to realize what I was sensing but when it did a few things fell into place. I am curious why you keep trying to drive Renato off when you're obviously courting him as a Sun."_

She flinched slightly at that.

" _The_ last _thing I want is to deal with that. Not after what happened before. I will not be tied down by false bonds and broken honor twice,"_ she said.

Fon winced. From the sound of things she had been forced to endure fake guardians, as the usual 'method' of obtaining them was more akin to a political marriage and less about actual bonds. It was why he detested Skies, outside of the fact that they rarely bothered to learn how to defend themselves beyond the minimum and were content to live inside a gilded cage.

" _Broken honor?"_

" _My father's behavior and actions have destroyed what little family honor I had, long before I was forced to clean up after the mess of the previous generation. It took the assistance of two other Skies who happened to be friends of mine before I was able to slip out of the silk noose they had so 'kindly' put around my neck because they couldn't be bothered to train the egos out of the other heirs ahead of me."_

Fon grimaced at that. It was clear that they had set her up as a puppet, only for her to slip out of the gilded cage they had trapped her in. If that was the case, then it was little wonder she didn't want her name getting out so easily, or any Guardians. She had likely been poisoned against the very idea of them from the trauma done to her flames trying to maintain a bond that simply wasn't there.

" _Besides...I was a civilian until I was fourteen. Unlike the other heirs, I didn't grow up living off the hard work of others."_

Well that explained quite a bit. A civilian wouldn't have the same ingrained beliefs about the 'roles' of a Sky and their Guardians. And considering she was making her living in a relatively well-to-do bar, rather than trying to create a new famiglia and recruiting people directly, it was clear she hadn't been born into money.

From the way she held herself, Fon made an estimated guess she came from a middle-class home, but not one that was stretched overly much for money.

" _I am curious why you took to me so quickly, and why you're showing this much trust to an almost complete stranger."_

" _Mostly it's because you're Asian, but are on good terms with that_ heathen _Renato,"_ she admitted. _"Do you have_ any _idea how difficult it is to find someone who appreciates tea properly, much less a proper bowl of rice? Never mind the fact we share roughly the same belief system and showed me far more respect than most of the people here do when they first find this place."_

Fon inclined his head. Obviously she was feeling very homesick, so the fact that a fellow Asian had come into her bar was a breath of fresh air. Particularly since he showed her the same courtesys one would expect to find in her home country.

Besides...they had quite a bit of fun tag-teaming the cocky Sun and using subtle ways of talking over his head. It was rare to find someone who not only understood his hidden messages when he spoke cryptically, but was able to counter them with hidden messages of their own!

" _Don't tell Renato, but I also own the rooms above me. I rent them out to customers who have had a bit too much and need a place to crash while they ride out the hangover. Feel free to borrow any of the empty ones whenever you wish, so long as you bring some new teas to share!"_ she said impishly.

Fon hid a smile behind his robe sleeve, eyes glinting with mirth. The young woman was quite the little devil, but he had to admit he thoroughly enjoyed her company.

" _I will keep that in mind!"_ he replied in good humor.

The look on Renato's face alone would be worth keeping that tidbit quiet. Obviously she lived in one of the rooms above the bar, which meant she had ready access to her business without having to leave the building. It was only good sense to do so, after all.


	101. Prometheus Online Chapter Two

Skull took _one_ look at the outfit Fon was wearing, before he about died laughing his ass off.

"What's so funny?" asked Fon confused.

"You... you look like the Monkey King from _Journey to the West!_ " cackled Skull.

"On an unrelated note, did you win a familiar as well?" asked Reborn.

A tiny white monkey that could have been Lichi's double poked it's head from around Fon's shoulder.

"Okay, this is officially weird as hell," said Colonello flatly. "How exactly did all of us win the familiar raffle _and_ get something that could pass as the digital double of our real ones?"

Skull stared at Colonello blankly, as if he was in disbelief someone would have to ask that.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Care to elaborate lackey?" said Reborn.

"Oh come on... the 'rainbow curse', the fact that anyone who does those special events gets turned into toddlers? And don't get me started on how much those quests are like what we went through before Luce had this curse put on us! I bet they did their research and had our accounts specially flagged when we made them so we were sure to win the raffle and then made sure we got our actual familiars as a special prize because we took an interest in the game!" said Skull as if it were obvious.

Because honestly, after Reborn showed up with a chameleon that was practically a copy of Leon that was the only explanation he could possibly think of that made any sense how they had the special familiars that weren't available _anywhere_ in the game.

Seeing Lichi only confirmed it, in his opinion.

The other three stared at him, before Colonello reluctantly admitted...

"That makes way too much damn sense, actually."

"So where are these arenas you mentioned?"

"You have to quest out of the Noob Fields before you're allowed to do any of the fun stuff," said Colonello. "Even Reborn went through them. More importantly what the hell are you wearing?"

Fon had a slightly sheepish look on his face.

"I noticed a 'special set' when I was in the dressing room and decided to try out the pre-arranged outfit to see what they could come up with."

"Yeah, I tried that too. They're pretty good at historical accuracy when it comes to the 'special suit sets' that they offer. But the only way to get the full thing before you even start the game is to pay for them and it's more fun to earn them," said Skull.

Fon nodded.

"I was pleasantly surprised they got the clothing to be as period accurate as possible... the fact it grants a special bonuses to those who select 'martial artist' as their class was interesting though."

"What sort of weapon did you pick? I was somewhat surprised they let you take what you wanted so long as you passed a basic competency test," said Reborn.

"Considering the outfit, I went with a basic bo staff," admitted Fon. If he was going to 'get into character', so to speak, then he at least wanted to do it properly.

Once Fon had finished 'questing out' of the basic tutorials, he promptly went to the PVP arenas and was unsurprised to find Kyouya already waiting for him.

They spent most of the day fighting, and the others resigned themselves to waiting for a least a day or two before they actually got to do the quest.

Fortunately the thing didn't have any time limits.

* * *

"Am I hallucinating, or is that a blond version of Fon and Kyouya?" asked Colonello slowly.

"With period accurate clothing from at least two and a half centuries ago," noted Reborn.

"Holy shit...it's Alaude!" said Lal in shock.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Alaude, the Cloud guardian of Vongola Primo. I never noticed how much of a resemblance he had to you before Fon," clarified Lal.

They turned to look at the bored looking Cloud doing paperwork, then at Fon and Kyouya.

"That...is more than a little odd," said Fon slowly. Because the man at the desk could have passed for Kyouya's twin, just blond with blue eyes.

"Excuse me... do you know where we're supposed to go?" asked Skull. He was still holding the bunny that he hoped would become his new secondary familiar from earlier.

Though there had been a minor stare off that had Fon very amused between Kyouya and Skull over who got to keep the bunny.

"Alaude", if that was who it was supposed to be, looked at them. Fon twitched when he registered the fact that the Cloud was apparently a smoker and couldn't help the mental image of Kyouya and such a disgusting habit.

What happened next was somewhat brutal, and only made the mental comparisons between Kyouya and the Primo's Cloud Guardian worse...because Alaude attacked them with _handcuffs_ of all things, to which Kyouya responded far too enthusiastically.

After about fifteen minutes, someone burst into the room with an exasperated look on his face.

"No, no, no! I am not filling out the paperwork for you destroying the room again!" said someone who Lal identified as Giotto, the Vongola's Primo.

"Nufufufu... does the Cloud have _control_ issues?" said another, who was quickly identified as Daemon Spade.

"Excuse me... do you know where we're supposed to go next?" asked Skull quickly, before things became even more confusing.

Giotto blinked at that.

"I would like to agree... I would like to finish this quest sometime today," drawled Reborn.

Giotto went to the bookshelf, which miraculously hadn't been destroyed, before pulling off something from near the top.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"In order to understand, one must seek the origin," he said cryptically. "Coincidentally the Princess has a message."

"She does?" said Skull eagerly.

"If you want to be free for real, then you have to keep playing the game. Otherwise she won't help you get the pacifiers off for real," said 'Giotto'. "The more of you that play it, the easier it will be to remove them pacifiers for good."

Dead silence.

"How do we know this is for real?" asked Lal.

Giotto looked _right_ at Lal first.

"When you log off, try removing the pacifier. Since you were only clipped with it, you would have the easiest time attempting it."

The trio disappeared as silence fell upon them.

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" asked Colonello.

"One way to find out. Worst case scenario it's a very poor joke that we can express our annoyance with later," said Reborn.

They all logged out, unaware of the shock that was about to befall them the next time they spoke again.

* * *

Lal felt a wave of vertigo from logging out. It was worse than normal, and she had to sit down.

She touched the cursed pacifier around her neck, mostly out of habit...only to pause when she heard something softly thump on the floor.

There was a strange feeling that flowed into her body, and she blacked out completely.

When she woke up, it took her several moments to register something very wrong. The second she saw _adult_ hands, not the small version she had been forced to grow accustomed to, she stared in shock.

She touched her face...before cautiously making her way to the bathroom. Things were vastly different than normal, as she kept tripping over her feet. Also, she was able to see things from a much higher perspective than before.

Staring at her _adult_ face, cursed scar and all, Lal nearly choked back a sob.

As if that wasn't enough, she could feel her Rain flames again. They were weak, sluggish,but they were _there_.

She went into the room, slowly due to the awkwardness of having longer limbs again, and saw the pacifier. It was laying innocently on the floor, as if it hadn't suddenly detached itself from her.

She couldn't bear to look at the damn thing, and threw something over it.

If this was a joke, it was unbearably cruel.

Once Lal realized no, this wasn't a joke and she was _actually_ free of the curse and in her proper form again, the first thing she did was text Reborn and the others.

She clenched her adult hands, feeling slightly giddy with relief at seeing them instead of the child-sized ones. It was a feeling she doubted she would get tired of.

 _A few days later..._

Fon, Reborn, Verde, Skull, and Colonello stared at the _adult_ Lal Mirch who was still in shock over the entire thing.

Reborn looked at Colonello.

"Didn't that Giotto copy say something about being free for _real_ so long as we continued to play the game?"

Skull blinked, before a triumphant smirk came on his face.

"I _told_ you that the Princess had a way to free us! And you said that the plot point was too convienent to be real!" he crowed.

"Princess?" said Fon confused. Verde was looking at Skull with equal intensity.

"In the game, the Princess supposedly has a way to break the curse that involves the weird halo that floats in the sky. According to the 'plot' when all seven glow and the princess is found and added to one of the party, it becomes a crown and the Curse is broken," said Skull triumphantly.

Colonello wanted to debate it was just a game...except he cast a look at the adult Lal. A strange sense of hope appeared in his chest... was it possible he could be free of this curse too? The Giotto copy that was in the game _had_ said it would be easier to break the curse on Lal because she was only clipped by it.

"Impossible! What are the odds that someone has found a way to break the curse and none of us knew about it?" said Verde. But his eyes kept going back to Lal.

"...About the same odds as Checkerface choosing a child younger than ten over Aria as the next Sky Arcobaleno," said Reborn.

Dead silence. The 'official' Sky Arcobaleno was Aria, though none of them had bothered to stay in contact with her after Luce died. Honestly, it had been a debate on whether to attend Luce's funeral at all after what she did.

In reality, which only Reborn was actually aware of because he had noticed Aria didn't _have_ the pacifier when he went to the funeral and had questioned her about it, the bastard who cursed them had taken the Sky pacifier and given it to a child.

Aria couldn't give any concrete details on what the child looked like, just that they had been _very_ young and a little older than five but younger than ten.

She had still assumed the mantle as Sky Arcobaleno to give Reborn time to locate the real one and to provide some measure of protection for them. Whoever it was, they were staying very quiet or had no idea what they actually carried.

Or worse, were being held hostage for some nefarious means to use against them later.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Lal intently.

"Aria confirmed it when I asked her why she didn't have the pacifier after Luce's funeral. She couldn't find out who it was, just that they were older than five and younger than ten. She suspects they might be Asian, because she saw a few books with characters vaguely similar to something she had seen Fon reading more than once," said Reborn.

"Did she remember any of the characters?" asked Fon, curious.

Reborn took a napkin and quickly scrawled a few that Aria had copied, but the detail was far from perfect.

Fon and Skull both blinked.

"Are you seeing the same thing I am?" asked Skull slowly.

"That looks Japanese, but the picture is off."

"I was thinking the same thing. Besides, this might confirm a suspicion I've had about the creator of the game," said Skull.

"Suspicion?" asked Verde.

"I think whoever made _Prometheus Online_ is Japanese, because I keep seeing references that only someone in Japan would think of, rather than anything European. It also explains why they have a lot of really detailed items from Japan and some from mainland Asia, with a few things thrown in from Italy and the areas around it thrown in for flavor."

Colonello frowned.

"Now that you mention it, there _are_ a lot of references to Japanese mythology and the Troll looks more like an Oni than anything from Europe," he admitted.

"Yeah, besides who outside of someone from Japan would even _know_ what a Yatagarasu is?" asked Skull. "And that raffle for familiars looks _exactly_ like the kind you'd find at shopping centers in Japan during special promotions, with prizes that are really similar!"

"...That explains why the 'special' skill tree that comes with the Son Goku outfit actually _fits_ the character from the story," said Fon slowly. "I thought they would try to go the ' _Dragonball_ ' route, but instead it follows more to the official skill set from _Journey to the West_."

"I wonder if the reference to Greek and Roman mythology was deliberate or on accident," commented Reborn.

The others looked at him.

"Prometheus was one of the 'good' Titans from the Greek/Roman pantheon who stole fire from the gods and brought it to humanity after Zeus hid it. As punishment, Zeus sentenced him to be chained to a rock and have his liver eaten by an eagle every day. He was only freed when Hercules broke the chains as part of his Twelve labors," elaborated Reborn.

"...How exactly did he survive having his liver eaten every day?" asked Skull incredulous.

"He was a Titan, and considered a demi-god of sorts. He was immortal and it grew back by the time the eagle returned to do it all over again," replied Reborn.

"Ew," grimaced Skull.

"Like I said, I've been wondering if the reference was deliberate or a happy coincidence, particularly since flames are actually _part_ of the game. Makes you wonder how they managed to slip this past the Vindice," commented Reborn.

Either way, it wasn't long before Verde signed on to the game to try and investigate how the hell Lal managed to remove the curse after the quest.

Skull's theory that the creator specifically targeted the Arcobaleno for the 'special familiars' was all but confirmed when he walked out with a copy of Kaimen.


	102. Black Serpent Chapter One

" _Squib!"_

Absolute. Dead. Silence.

The child under the hat barely moved, either from shock or fear was unknown.

No one, _no one_ would have guessed the hat would yell out 'Squib' instead of one of the four hours. Especially that child!

McGonagall slowly removed the hat to reveal a child with green eyes, messy black hair and a familiar curse scar. The poor thing seemed absolutely timid and had no idea what to do now.

"Ms. Potter, please go wait in the ante chamber," she told the poor girl. How was she going to explain this to Lily and James in the afterlife, that the magic that their daughter had barely survived had turned the girl into a squib!

The girl couldn't meet anyone's eyes, and seemed on the verge of breaking down in tears.

It was absolutely dreadful, and McGonagall reluctantly went back to the sorting...however anyone could tell her heart wasn't in it. The silence continued right until the food appeared, but once it did the hall almost exploded in hushed whispers of what just happened.

The girl-who-lived was a squib!

 _The next morning..._

Seeing the familiar sight of Privet Drive, Willow Cerridwen Potter, meekly went inside.

However the second the professor left, after leaving vague warnings about keeping an eye on her, the girl's back straightened and she looked Petunia dead in the eye.

"Pathetic fools. As if I would be stupid enough to actually attend that backwater school when I could be doing something productive," sneered the girl.

Petunia blinked at the sudden change of attitude, and before she could attempt to reassert control over the girl she had basically treated as a live-in slave for the past ten years, the girl had her 'aunt' up against a wall with a dagger in her other hand.

Petunia wisely kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the girl.

"Let's get one thing straight, bitch. I don't want to be here and your pathetic family would be better off if I disappeared from England entirely. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to calmly explain to Vernon that he is going to pay for a first-class ticket to Italy, and you will assist me in getting a normal passport. If you don't, then I have absolutely no issue with murdering you all in your sleep, one at a time starting with that fat husband of yours. Are. We. Clear."

Petunia looked in the dead eyes of her niece, found that there was absolutely no empathy or anything resembling mercy in them, and carefully nodded.

She had absolutely _zero_ doubt that the girl would happily follow through if her demands were not met, with great enthusiasm and no little creativity involved.

Vernon was just glad to be rid of the 'freak', even if he twitched at having to pay for a seat that the girl deemed 'acceptable'.

It would be some time before the "mix-up" was discovered, and by then she would be long gone.

* * *

 _Back in Hogwarts, Headmaster's office..._

" _Really Albus, there was no need to banish that poor girl because she was sorted into Slytherin! Plenty of fine witches and wizards have come out of that house that didn't turn evil!"_ scolded the hat.

It had spoken up because the topic of discussion was the tragic knowledge that the killing curse had rendered poor Ms. Potter a squib.

Dead silence. Considering this was the first staff meeting of the year, almost a full month had passed since the shock at the Sorting.

"Forgive me for asking this..." said McGonagall slowly, as if in disbelief at what she was hearing. "But are you telling me you sorted young Ms. Potter into _Slytherin_ , rather than declare her a squib in front of the entire school?!"

The hat looked offended she had to ask that question.

" _I have done my duty to sort the young lady, and you all looked quite devestated at her placement. I cannot believe you have fallen so far as to banish a child because of which house she was sorted in! I almost sorted her into Ravenclaw after all! The girl has quite the mind for Arithimancy if the equations I saw going through her head were any indication!"_

Flitwick and Sinistra perked up at that information.

"Just to be clear here, you did not actually declare her a squib, correct?" said Dumbledore baffled.

The hat 'glared' at him.

Dumbledore pulled out his pensieve, and to a man each of the professors re-watched the sorting.

There, clear as day was the sound of the hat declaring "Squib!" to the entire school. While on Ms. Potter's head.

To their frustration, they could not find a single clue as to how the girl had fooled them all into believing she was a squib, instead of a newly sorted Slytherin.

Either way, they needed to reclaim Ms. Potter and find out the truth, before things got even more muddled.

* * *

A young witch walked into the Italian branch of Gringotts, spotted a less than amused Goblin, and calmly waltzed up to the desk.

"Time is money, so do not waste too much of mine or you will find yourself eviscerated in the most creative fashion I can devise while bored," she said bluntly.

The goblin stopped what it was doing, and actually _Looked_ at the eleven year old girl who said this in a tone that said volumes of the fact she would Do Bad Things to anyone who did not operate in a timely manner.

"...What is it you want?"

"I want to sort out my vaults so that I am assured that I am not being swindled by brainless sheep who do not understand the proper value of money and seem to believe that passing around the same gold to slightly different people is considered profit. I would also like to claim several bounties and reparations from the idiots who run the British ministries for their incompetence as well as demand a very large cut of several books that were published without authorization or agreement from the subject in question. Oh, and create a very sizeable fine for a certain set of phrases."

"..."

Viper was rather pleased when they were swiftly moved into a much more expensive looking part of the bank, and put together with some quite ruthless and rather 'mercenary' looking lawyers all too happy to listen to what she had to say so long as they got a decent size of what was looking to be a very sizeable profit from idiots too stupid to keep their gold anyway.

Considering she knew something of the future, Viper made a point to convert a large amount of gold into normal currency, make several off-shore bank accounts, and then invest heavily in stocks she knew would explode upwards in value.

Including a few that belonged to a number of companies that were involved in scandals that would eventually bankrupt them.

The Miserly Mist of the Arcobaleno had a dark smirk on their face.

Then they looked at their _naturally_ eleven-year-old body and scowled.

It looked like they would have to take a page out of Lal's book... and a few others...before anyone took them seriously as a major player.

It was a good thing they were an excellent information broker. Finding an arm's dealer willing to honor their agreement and not try to cheat them from their apparent age would take _ages_ otherwise.

* * *

 _A few months later..._

Viper was humming pleased. It had taken a few pointed warnings about pissing them off, but their lack of empathy and sheer willingness to blow anyone who looked at them funny up made up for their age.

It had taken a mere three months before they secured a cheap apartment in Mafia Land, where they could focus more on increasing their information network to their satisfaction.

It amused Viper greatly that people thought she was a _Storm_ or possibly a Cloud, but never once considered her to be a Mist.

To be fair, she did have a few secondaries she had never really played around with.

Unfortunately her information network was still lacking a great deal, which meant the primary source of money from before was barely making ends meet. Mafia Land was expensive, and not just because of the attractions.

Which was why Viper rented out a massive warehouse, and then advertised a "fun adventure" for bored mafioso.

Which was less a fun adventure and more of a reason for them to let loose with their guns. She charged them for their time, the weapons that were available at the 'start' and for discreet advantages once they really got into it. It was child's play to set up the entire thing along with 'save points'.

The second word spread about the 'mock zombie apocalypse' and the fact they got to kill zombies with realistic effects, Viper was making an absolute killing. What real mafioso would turn down the chance to shoot zombies or play their video games for real? The second most popular 'scenario' being, ironically enough, Super Mario complete with costume.

The irony being that it was a fat "Italian" plumber made by the Japanese for the Americans.

Viper couldn't wait for _Pok_ _é_ _mon_ to come out in a few years.

The miserly mist smirked. While her information network wasn't nearly up to what she considered 'acceptable' standards, this was a nice way to kill time and make an obscene amount of money for almost nothing.

Best of all, no one could really force her into joining their famiglia since she sent out an illusionary manager to deal with others while she did her accounting from her apartment.

The amount of money she was racking in from the warehouse alone was making her a very happy Mist.

So you could imagine her annoyance when she saw an _owl_ that was decidedly not her familiar Hedwig attempting to bother her.

Viper was many things, but an idiot was not one of them. So long as she passed the international tests, the English morons couldn't touch her or force her to attend their wretched school. And she had already insured that there wouldn't be any repeats of her fourth year by magically changing her name to Viper Black.

A magical ritual needed certain factors in order to work, especially when it involved unwilling parties. She had negated most of the factors that had dragged her into that accursed tournament simply by changing her name and using a few rituals to alter her original magical signature.

All _highly_ illegal by many Ministries to perform within their jurisdiction, not to mention expensive for the ingredients required, but the security of knowing that she wouldn't be dragged back to England was well worth it.

Besides, most of those she had done once she settled into Mafia Land, which meant the odds of her being arrested for using them were zero. They didn't have a magical ministry, the island itself remained in international waters (which meant she could beat the ever living shit out of anyone who crossed her and not get arrested for it, regardless of what their nationality was), and the fact it was essentially a neutral playground for the criminal underworld meant no would have given a damn about how illegal anything she did was so long as she didn't make it their problem or brought the Vindice down on the place.

For now she just had to lay low, study up for the tests so she could legally claim her full inheritance a little early, and prepare for the headaches that could very easily follow her if certain parties actually managed to track her down. Not to mention build up her information network.

* * *

To say Viper was flustered was an understatement.

What the _hell_ was FON doing here?!

The Chinese Storm, who had yet to grow into the man she had always harbored a crush on but was too cowardly to admit to, was in Mafia Land.

She knew it was him because she had practically memorized his flame signature over the years, and while it was unrefined she had recognized it in a heartbeat.

Fon was clearly looking for something, but his presence threw her off enough that she decided to avoid him instead.

Besides, she was currently undergoing the headache known as puberty a full year and a half earlier than she remembered and the last thing she wanted was for the Storm to have more ammunition to tease her with.

He was annoying enough as it was.

Sadly it seemed fate was working against her. Fon had come to the island looking for the "top information broker", though her reach in Asia wasn't as good as she would have liked. Her European and American network, on the other hand...

Viper sent out an illusionary double, and kept out of sight. She had gotten to the point that she could see and hear everything the double could, which made it that much harder for "interested parties" to catch her.

Forced recruitment, especially by Skies, was heavily frowned upon on Mafia Land. To the point that if they failed to convince the one they wanted into joining that they could be kicked off and banned for a period of time. The length of which was usually dependent on how much of a nuisance they made themselves.

Skies usually got a longer "sentence" than usual unless they had a full compliment of bonded guardians. No one appreciated it when Skies tried to shove their flames on people, driving "free" Elements into causing a massive ruckus that would only piss off the Vindice to no end.

"What do you want? Bear in mind information will cost you money and that attempts to coerce me into joining any group will only bring pain upon you and any friends you may attempt to bring," asked Viper through the mouth of the double.

The art of Ventriloquism was seriously underrated, but oh so useful. And in the hands of a skilled Mist, made them even more effective at distracting the enemy.

Though Viper had to hide a smirk at the number of times she had pissed off Renato or Lal by mimicking the voices of people around them into saying something they shouldn't. Lal in particular was so easy to rile up.

Fon seemed to look at her curiously.

"I am a freelancer myself," he replied easily. "So I understand your dislike of being forced to join with another group. My clan has been having certain difficulties in Europe regarding some rather foolish individuals, so I was hoping you might have information that could help lead me to their location."

Viper's double stared at him.

"Do these 'certain individuals' happen to answer to something _other_ than the Vindice, yet weild an energy not unlike Mist flames combined with Sun?" she asked carefully.

Fon's calm smile sharpened a bit.

"Perhaps."

Viper's double was good, but it couldn't tell her anything about whether Fon had magic or not. And while she didn't give a damn about the Statute she wasn't about to air the fact that there was another community of easily exploited fools who could use powers _other_ than flames.

"This area is too open for such sensitive information," said Viper.

"I agree. Would your warehouse be sufficient?"

"It closes to the public around eight tonight. Come at nine so the stragglers will have been ejected and I can secure it."

Fon nodded agreeably.

 _Later that night..._

Fon arrived at the warehouse, and was mildly surprised by the limited defenses around it. It was nice to know that his honor as a martial artist had earned him that amount of trust...from what he had heard, the Black Viper was _extremely_ paranoid and rarely interacted with their customers directly, preferring to use a Mist double instead.

"What is it you wish to know?" asked Viper.

Fon blinked... the figure before him couldn't possibly be more than a year or two younger than he was.

"Are you a squib?" he asked bluntly. It was better to get directly to the point and that was a harmless enough question.

He could _feel_ Viper roll their eyes at him.

"Just because I fooled everyone into believing the Sorting Hat yelled 'Squib' rather than 'Slytherin' doesn't mean I _am_ one," they snarked.

Well that answered which particular enclave Viper came from.

Fon kept his hands visible.

"My clan has been having difficulty acquiring certain magical ingredients and potions from Europe, several of which are from the UK. They would like to know who is hindering their business and what would be the most effective method of fixing the issue."

Viper snorted.

"The English morons are finally starting to feel the pressure from their money being siphoned off by their general idiocy and are likely trying to 'fix' the issue by keeping everything in house rather than exporting good to foreign countries," replied the Mist. "I know for a _fact_ they hold a very ill view of foreign wizards and barely tolerate those with creature inheritances such as Veela."

Fon frowned at that.

"What is causing the problem?"

"Their precious 'savior' is finally calling them on their general bullshit and put a 'fee' on the multiple nicknames they were given, along with putting the squeeze on those who would make a profit off their so-called legend," said Viper bluntly. "Anyone over the age of fifteen that tries to mention Willow Potter in conjuction with her status as the girl who survived the killing curse is charged two sickles without exception. Considering those idiots have been pushing around the same gold for over a century at least and calling it profit, and the fact that most Hogwarts graduates are generally laughed at once they leave the UK unless they kept their grades up, it's rather hard for them to make up what they're losing."

Fon openly frowned at that.

"So there's no viable way for my clan to deal with the issue directly?"

Viper smirked.

"I said that it would be too difficult to deal with the problem in the straightforward manner you were planning. However there are _indirect_ methods which would solve the issue without actually involving your clan with the civil war that is almost certain to erupt within the next decade, if not sooner."

Seeing his interest, Viper elaborated.

"I have certain...investments...in Europe. If I had a list of what your clan is attempting to acquire, it would make it easier for me to act as middleman for a small fee."

Fon smiled with relief. At least this trip wasn't a complete waste of his time, though why he was sent was still something of a mystery.


	103. Fierce Rabbit Chapter One

**If you know what Gokusen is, then you're good to go! ;D**

* * *

Tsuna _hated_ his life. Because of his grades and how badly the teachers had spoken of him, he had failed to even pass the required exams for Namimori High School. As a result he had to cast his net a bit farther away from home just to get into high school.

On the plus side, he never had to fear the demon prefect coming after his ass for being late again. It just sucked he had to live in a really crappy apartment and have to get a job to pay living expenses.

His mom covered the tuition fees, but other than that he was on his own.

To be honest, moving away from Namimori was kind of a relief. No one immediately equated him with "Dame-Tsuna" here, and he didn't have to worry about his things being taken or damaged by his bullies.

And the school didn't really care about whether he skipped out of class or not...Shiroken was more concerned about the hooligans that made up their students than they were about a 'fluffy bunny' like him.

He still found it funny that he was in a class with someone who had the same surname as him.

Shin was intense, but he was nice and stuck up for the weaker students. He didn't mind taking Tsuna under his wing, but he was still too skittish to ask for help in regards to homework.

This was his second-year in high school and he could only hope that things would be better since that jerk Kudou was finally expelled.

"So we're getting a female teacher?" asked Tsuna.

"Yeah. Hopefully it's that stacked babe I saw earlier!" said Kumai.

"I just hope she's nice," said Tsuna.

"Don't worry rabbit, we'll keep you safe."

"Why do you guys always call me rabbit?" asked Tsuna. It was a long-standing complaint, but it was still better than Dame-Tsuna. After all, here no one really made fun of his crappy grades or the fact he wasn't really physically inclined. The guys might look and talk rough, but in reality they were pretty nice overall.

"Because you're cute and fluffy like a little bunny," said Shin with a smirk. "But you still have the balls to stand up against Kudou in front of the cops."

Tsuna was one to insure Kudou would finally been expelled. He had been harassing the first years, and Tsuna had been a major part in why he was expelled. Then he spoke in front of the cops, even though it ran the risk of it getting back to him.

He might be a fluffy bunny, but he was still braver than a mouse.

Seeing the new teacher, Tsuna felt something inside him sit up and take notice.

She was _not_ normal.

Still, it was best to keep his head down and hope to make it through high school. Sure, his grades sucked but he was sure he could find _something_ he was good at.

* * *

Yamaguchi (called Yankumi by her students) looked at the lone piece of paper that someone had bothered to fill out correctly.

" _I want to pass high school with high enough grades to at least get into a decent college and prove everyone wrong."_

"Which one was Sawada Tsunayoshi?" she wondered.

Looking at the class roster, she found only two with the surname Sawada. Shin was easy enough to identify, as he had pretty much singled himself out early on. But she couldn't for the life of her remember which one was Tsunayoshi.

"Tsuna? Oh, you mean Rabbit," said another teacher.

"Rabbit?"

"The kid's like a fluffy bunny. I'm amazed he came back for a second year, considering what happened last year."

The other teacher pulled out a class roster with pictures attached and pointed him out.

"No way... how did a fluffy bunny like this survive a year here?" she asked amazed.

"Don't dismiss the Rabbit," said the principal. "Young Tsuna is the reason that ruffian Kudou was expelled last year. The boy was brave enough to press charges against that other boy even though it ran the risk of making him a target."

"Seriously?"

"The kid might be fluffy, but he's loyal and smart," agreed another teacher. "He's kept a few of the other boys out of trouble with the police, and because he doesn't look like he attends our school they tend to believe him when he acts as their alibi."

Yankumi looked at the picture. The kid was positively _tiny_ , but he was clearly smarter than he looked...or had some strong survival instincts.

Considering what she had seen of the class dynamic, it was clear he had attached himself to Shin and was willing to act as their cover when it came to their less than legal activities in exchange for protection.

The only issue was his living situation and the fact he had a very low-paying job. She could tell right off the bat the kid was barely making ends meet.

She looked at the basic profile from when he applied to the school and had to blink.

"What the hell? What sort of teacher openly calls their own student 'Dame-Tsuna' in a report?" she said in disbelief.

"It wasn't just the teachers. Apparently a good portion of his classmates called him that, and his own mother had given up on him. She was surprised he had applied to a different high school when he failed to get into the one in town," said another teacher.

Yankumi couldn't quite keep the look of offended disgust off her face. No wonder Tsuna wanted to 'prove everyone wrong'. Even a fluffy bunny like him had some pride as a man. Though considering his grades...

* * *

 _A few days later..._

Tsuna blinked at the odd note on the bottom of his test.

 _'If you are really serious about pulling up your grades, stay after class today. Yankumi'_

Was this for real?

Still, Yankumi didn't feel like any of the other teachers. She wasn't afraid of them for starters, and she had already caught Shin's attention to the point he actually came to class for a change.

There wasn't any harm in going, if only because none of the third years were likely to be there. Besides, today was his day off.

"Um... hello?" he asked carefully.

"Ah, Sawada-kun. Come on in. I was just getting things ready," said Yankumi.

Tsuna cautiously came in. He had a knife in his back pocket, which was a gift from Shin. He couldn't really do much damage, but he had learned a lot about dirty fighting from his friends so he could get away enough to escape. He was pretty fast when he had to be.

"So were you serious about wanting to improve your grades enough to get into college?" asked Yankumi.

"Yeah. I couldn't really do anything about it before because the teachers back home kept saying I was cheating every time I tried to make it higher than a D average," replied Tsuna sourly. "And no one wanted to bother with 'Dame-Tsuna'...my inability to do anything right might be contagious you know."

Yankumi felt like growling hearing that, but kept her temper.

"Well I'm not going to immediately assume you're hopeless. But if you really want to improve your grades then I expect some actual effort. So I'm going to give you a basic competency test to see how much we need to work on before we do anything else, okay?" she replied.

Tsuna winced at the idea. He had been relieved when he first got accepted into Shiroken high, despite his grade point average...at least until he found out more about it.

Sure it was scary, and the other students were really rough around the edges, but anything had to be better than being constantly reminded of his failures like he was back home.

And the teachers here at least didn't mock him in public for his bad grades. They were just happy that he was at least _trying_ to learn something from him and wasn't inclined to cause trouble. It was more than most of the other guys tried.

Yankumi said nothing, and let him fill out the test as best he could, which took about twenty minutes. It was more than just math on there, which surprised him for a moment.

Her expression when he handed it back said volumes.

"Let me guess... Dame-Tsuna couldn't even scrape a barely passing mark, right?" he said tiredly. He was so sick of that name haunting him.

"Actually you got thirty-five points. But it's pretty clear you've been struggling for a long time with the way some of these answers are worded," she replied. "Especially in the maths and English. Did none of the teachers bother to help you?"

"Why would they help Dame-Tsuna?" said Tsuna bitterly. "After all, everyone knows I'm no-good and that I'll never amount to nothing. Especially with a delusional mother and nonexistent father. My own mother gave up on me and was openly shocked I applied to more than just Namimori High school when I failed to get in. She would tell me all the time that she didn't care if I couldn't do anything right so long as I was 'happy' about my lot in life."

Yankumi had to fight her temper. This poor kid had been struggling for years and no one had cared. And unlike the rest of the class, he _wanted_ to do better, but no one cared enough to encourage him or even help when he needed it.

"Tell you what. I'll help tutor you until you're properly caught up with the where you should be, and in exchange you try to get those idiots to actually pay attention in class. You're one of the few they'll listen to and unlike Shin you don't go out of your way to cause trouble for the teachers."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I had no idea what he was planning since I was at work that day," said Tsuna apologetically.

"You don't need to apologize. Shin's a pain but I can handle his little pranks," said Yankumi.

"Would it be okay if I brought a friend with me to these? Once he's off suspension?"

"Who's your friend?" asked Yankumi.

"His name's Tsuruta and he's supposed to be a third year. Everyone's afraid of him because he's a big and a little slow, but he's actually really nice once you get to know him. Kudou used him as muscle and Tsuruta let him because Kudou used a dirty trick to beat him. He's more of a follower than a leader," said Tsuna.

"Let me ask around first. If he's been suspended then we might have to change the meeting place so he doesn't get into any more trouble. But if he's willing to put in the effort I'll see what I can do," said Yankumi honestly.

"Um... Yamaguchi-sensei? Are you part of the Yakuza?"

Yankumi froze... and was slightly surprised Tsuna actually bothered to use her correct name, rather than the nickname the students had given her.

"What makes you ask that?" she asked.

"You mean it's not obvious? I mean you've been faking being scared of the students with their pranks, you're too calm about their rough behavior...but mostly it's the way you talk," admitted Tsuna. "Either you're a _major_ Yakuza otaku, or you're from a yakuza family."

Yankumi winced at being busted...by the class rabbit no less.

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

"Why would I?" asked Tsuna baffled. "You're likely the _only_ teacher who will give my friends a fair chance without seeing them as complete hooligans and possibly help them graduate properly without being biased against them."

Yankumi blinked, before she gently ruffled his head.

"You're a good kid Tsuna."

"Besides, it would really look bad for a yakuza to rough up a harmless bunny just because one of their women was tutoring me in normal subjects," he continued. "So it should be safe enough."

Yankumi sweatdropped. He wasn't wrong.

"In any case I'll see about your friend and why he was suspended, but I don't see why I can't help you two get your grades up."

Her assessment of the little rabbit went up when she learned more about his friend...and got a good look at the kid.

It didn't take much to make Tsuruta fall in line properly. He was big and tough, but when it came down to it he was more of a follower. He wouldn't bother with leading unless it was as a puppet for someone much smarter.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get this big guy on your side?" asked Yankumi.

Tsuna winced. They were in Yankumi's house (he was glad to have his suspicions of her being yakuza confirmed, though he wasn't expecting her to be the heiress) and he was listening attentively to the extra lessons.

"It's nothing special. I just gave him some bread."

"You just gave him some bread?" said Yankumi incredulous.

From the way Tsuruta acted, you would think Tsuna had taken a nasty hit for him or something.

"I was heading out to get some snacks for the others and spotted Tsuruta looking for his lunch. See he had lost his bento and couldn't figure out where he put it. So when I returned and realized he must have forgotten his lunch, I decided to give him some of the extra bread I bought for myself. Shin and the others know I hate charity, so whenever they send me out to get snacks and stuff they usually give me 'extra' so I can get some for me. I just tapped his shoulder and gave him the bread before heading back to class without saying anything."

Yankumi listened with interest, but she could see the mildly upset look on Tsuruta's face as she heard the story. Clearly there was more to it than that.

She wasn't the only one listening.

"A few days later Kudou decides to single me out for whatever reason, and has his groupies beat the ever living shit out of me. Tsuruta somehow recognized me, or something, because when he came in and saw me he picked me up and took me to the nurse's office. I was pretty bad off...they had to send me to the hospital for three days because Kudou's stunt punctured my appendix," said Tsuna. He scowled. "It was pretty clear he was going to keep this up unless someone did something, so instead of keeping my mouth shut I told the cops _exactly_ what happened and that Tsuruta was the one who saved my life. However since he acted as Kudou's main enforcer simply by being around, they suspended him for two months."

Yankumi felt disgusted, but was glad the little rabbit stood up to that creep.

"So Tsuruta-kun... why did you save him?"

"He was nice to me, and doesn't treat me like I'm stupid. Besides, a martial artist should protect the weak, and Tsuna's a bunny. He wouldn't hurt anyone without a good reason for it," said Tsuruta. "Tsuna is the only to ask me what I wanted to do, rather than assume I wanted to act as muscle."

Tsuruta had realized pretty quick that when Tsuna had given him that bread, that he had given up the majority of his food for the day. The slight rumble from his stomach made that clear, as was the fact he was so small and tiny.

The fact Tsuna cared about someone he didn't even know to go hungry for a day impacted him a great deal. Especially when he realized Kudou was the sort of person to laugh at others rather than help them without wanting something in return.


	104. Bloodstained Hearts Chapter One

**Ah, young love... if one doesn't mind your girlfriend being a sociopath with four invisible hands and a really possessive attitude. XD**

 **If that description doesn't give it away, this is an Elven Lied/KHR cross with Kaede (Lucy)/Tsuna pairing. Enjoy.**

* * *

The first clue should have been the live-in girlfriend. The second clue was the fact that both teens took _one_ look at the gun and immediately treated him as a viable threat, despite the fact he looked like a toddler. The third clue... well it was less of a clue and more of a "WTF" moment because when he attempted to shoot Tsuna with his special bullet, a strange sort of hum filled the air and the bullet never hit it's mark.

A few regular bullets followed suit, and Tsuna was still unharmed and an increasingly irritated girlfriend was glaring at him with genuine murder in her eyes.

His instincts as a hit man said that getting on her bad side was a good way to end up very dead before he had a chance to defend himself. Considering she looked somewhat like a female Xanxus (it was the eyes, he would swear...he knew she dyed her hair because he found evidence of it in the trash earlier), he took that warning seriously.

"What are you trying to do to Tsuna?" she demanded.

Reborn decided to forget the usual shocked embarrassment of his special bullets and explain what he was attempting to do properly.

"This is a special bullet. When someone is hit with it, they are forced to act out their last regrets on top of drawing out their innate abilities. It lasts for five minutes, they go back to normal when the deadline is up, and it's not immediately lethal unless they _have_ no last regrets to speak of," said Reborn...leaving out the part that it also has a habit of stripping the victim to their skivvies as a side effect.

"So why are you trying to hit _me_ with it?" asked Tsuna.

"Nono put a seal on you as a child. This bullet will help to create cracks in that seal, on top of motivate you when you're being stubborn."

"Seal?" said the girl dangerously.

"I can't explain here. It's too public," said Reborn. He did not want the Vindice on his ass.

The two shared a look.

"We know a place."

"Good for disposing bodies," agreed the girl.

Reborn...felt like he should be alarmed, but he was more pissed that Iemitsu had clearly not bothered to keep proper track of his son properly.

No _civilian_ should know a good place to dispose of dead bodies!

Twenty minutes later, Reborn had to agree with their assessment. It was a good place to dispose of the evidence...including the dead.

"This is what's called 'Dying Will Flames'. Nono sealed yours for reasons known only to him when you were a child," said Reborn, creating a small ball of yellow flame in his hand.

Tsuna looked interested, though he had a confused expression on his face.

"I thought they were supposed to be orange?" he asked.

Reborn looked at him intently.

"What."

With a little concentration, Tsuna was able to light his right hand on fire. It wasn't as strong or steady as Reborn's, but it was also more than he _should_ have been able to do with a seal in place.

Reborn stared, before he looked at the two teenagers.

"Have either of you been in any life-threatening situations?" he asked.

Tsuna wilted, and the girl, pulled him into a firm hug with an open scowl.

"Iemitsu called people to take Kaede away. He didn't even care that she was _literally_ the only friend I have in this place," said Tsuna.

"They kept going on about something called a 'diclonius' and how I was an abomination that needed to be destroyed. I killed most of them before Hibari showed up with his gang and had them arrested for carrying illegal weapons. Even the yakuza stick to knives or swords around here," said Kaede with a scowl. "One of them got a lucky shot and he nearly _died_ on the operating table from blood loss. After that Hibari stepped up the guard around the town to keep those bastards from coming back. He was not happy they had caused so much trouble."

Reborn wanted to swear. That damn _idiota_ nearly got his son killed because he didn't like Tsuna's little girlfriend?

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

"About seven or eight years ago?" said Tsuna. "I don't really remember the date, just that it happened shortly after _that man_ visited, before claiming he was 'off to become a star'."

"Hibari has already had to chase off four more teams sent to kidnap me, all of whom were looking for girls with red eyes and pink hair, with oddly shaped 'horns' on the side of their head."

Well that explained the hair dye and the ribbons. The eyes could easily be explained away as an unusual shade of brown. And it explained why the seal was gone... a near death experience of that magnitude would have damaged it greatly to the point it would fall apart.

"Have you gone near a gun since then?" asked Reborn, pinching his nose.

"When Kaede realized they weren't going to stop and would likely use me as bait for her, she started taking lessons the next town over," admitted Tsuna. He had gone with her and learned how to shoot alongside her, but he knew all too well that it would look really, really bad if he started carrying a gun with how much he was bullied.

He did not mention the gun in his desk inside the middle drawer of his desk, taped so that it wouldn't be easily visible from view whenever someone opened the desk.

Well, it would be noticeable if someone bothered to try and remove the drawer, but it was fairly well hidden and taped loosely enough that he could remove it within a few seconds without alerting anyone to it's existence.

"I prefer sniper rifles to handguns," said Kaede absently.

Reborn mentally added "gun training" to the list of things he would have to teach his new students. At least the boy wasn't skittish around one if he was this calm about his girlfriend learning how to use one.

Most civilians were and had ridiculous ideas of how 'dangerous' they were.

"Right. Since clearly that _idiota_ can't be trusted to actually keep a proper profile on his own _son_ , I'm going to need a list of what you two can do and what we need to work on. Starting with your combat abilities," said Reborn irritably.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Kaede.

"Iemitsu. My contacts in this area were too limited to be of use, so I relied on what information CEDEF had on the area, mostly because this is Iemitsu's civilian place of residence. I should have known that _idiota_ was too stupid to be trusted with something like this. He never made any mention of a live-in girlfriend at all!" ranted Reborn.

Kaede and Tsuna both blushed at the "live-in girlfriend" comment.

"This Iemitsu... he wouldn't happen to be a scruffy haired blond with a beard and act like a braying jackass who drinks too much while dressed as a homeless drifter and weild a pickaxe would he?" asked Tsuna slowly.

"Yes."

Tsuna looked at his girlfriend.

"I stand by what I said when we found out he was the reason those people came after you. I will turn a blind eye and ignore all screaming so long as you don't get the blood spatter on me like the last time some idiot assassin tried come after us."

Kaede had a darkly satisfied expression in her eyes.

Between her and Hibari, all the hard core criminals had fled the town in favor of 'safer' stalking grounds. If they didn't get the hint from having a run-in with Hibari Kyouya, then they usually didn't last past their encounter with Kaede.

The demon prefect had an agreement with the 'blood-eyed carnivore'. So long as she restricted her murderous rampages to those society wouldn't miss... I/E rapists, murderers, drug dealers and other hardened criminals with no intention of stopping... he would turn a blind eye to the fact she hunted in his territory.

* * *

Tsuna was still confused _how_ exactly Mochida-sempai thought he was confession to _Kyoko_ of all people when he run up to Kaede in his boxers and proceeded to kiss her in full view of the school.

Everyone knew that he had been in love with Kaede for years, and that it was only a matter of time before they became 'official' as a couple.

Yeah, it was embarrassing he had run past the school idol in his boxers, but to be honest she had likely seen worse with someone like Ryohei, who was the captain of the boxing team.

Tsuna's patience with the whole farce, which half the school was going to be watching because they were assholes, snapped.

Right...time to call in reinforcements.

"Kaede, can you insure Ryohei-sempai is alerted to the 'extreme' fight that's going to be taking place at lunch?" asked Tsuna quietly.

"On it," she replied smirking, already getting what Tsuna had planned.

Ryohei might be weird, but there was no questioning his loyalty or

love towards his sister.

As Tsuna stood in the gym, he gave Mochida a flat look. He didn't even bother to pick up the equipment, as he could tell from the way the floor was bending slightly it was heavier than it should be.

"Can you explain what on earth gave you the idea that I liked Sasegawa-san as a potential girlfriend, when everyone knows I've been in love with Kaede for years?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb Sawada! I heard you confessing to her in your boxers!"

"...I was confessing to Kaede, not Kyoko. For that matter there's no way in hell I would consider Sasegawa-san a potential girlfriend."

"What, is she not good enough for you?"

"No, she just looks and acts way too much like my mother for me to consider it. I do not have an Oedipus complex, thank you very much," deadpanned Tsuna.

"A what? Forget it! I challenge you to a fight Sawada! Winner gets Kyoko-chan!"

"Really? And what if she doesn't _want_ to date either of us?" said Tsuna, well aware Kaede had retrieved Ryohei who was surprisingly listening to the entire exchange in silence.

He didn't look happy though.

Mochida didn't answer that.

"Pick up and fight me Sawada."

"No," said Tsuna flatly. "In fact I find it offensive that you think Sasegawa-san is some prize to be won without taking her own feelings into regard. And for that matter, I believe _someone_ would like to have a word with you regarding your behavior towards her. After all, you _are_ trying to court her."

Seeing the confusion in Mochida's eyes, as well as the eyes of nearly everyone there, Tsuna had a vindictive smirk as he stood aside for Ryohei to appear...after a discreet push and explanation from Kaede.

Mochida paled when he realized Kyoko's crazy older brother was there.

"Ryohei-sempai, I believe this fool could use an...extreme...lesson on how to properly treat women," said Tsuna.

Ryohei looked very unhappy with Mochida.

"Onii-san!" said Kyoko in surprise.

"We might as well let them fight. After all, this is one fight you _shouldn't_ intervene in, Kyoko-chan," said Kaede. "Especially considering your brother is going to teach this misogynist a lesson about treating girls like objects."

Kyoko didn't look happy, but she kept her silence.

Needless to say the fight was decidedly one-sided and Mochida was left with a puffy face from the way Ryohei used him as a punching bag.

When they exited the gym (avoiding an amused Hibari-sempai who was bored and decided to threaten them for crowding), Tsuna barely reacted when Reborn took his spot on his head.

"Impressive. You handled that in a very devious way," said Reborn.

"I meant what I said about her. There's no way I would date her when she she looks and acts like my mother. Besides, this puts me in Ryohei's good books since I defended his sister's honor and gave him a chance to defeat the fool who would have damaged it."

Reborn had to admit, he had come to this town expecting a fluffy kitten with no idea of what the real world was life...and found a half-grown tiger cub who had already found a very loyal and protective mate. He was going to enjoy helping to mold Kaede into the perfect mafia wife...who unlike Nana, would actively support her husband both in the board room and the battlefield...for his new student.

Reborn was quietly pleased that Tsuna's stunt earned him the gratitude and interest of Ryohei, who was an Active Sun.

* * *

 _A few days later..._

Tsuna looked at Gokudera Hayato...and was not impressed at all. He was like a feral puppy, one that pretended to be loyal but had a bad habit of biting people. Not to mention the amount of 'barking' he did.

Kaede, on the other hand, looked at him speculatively.

"We are not keeping him simply because you're a dog fan," said Tsuna in between classes.

"I know. He's all bark, too much bite and he's barely even house-trained," said Kaede in disappointment.

Tsuna had a sudden thought, and went to a section of wall that he pressed to reveal a surprised...and slightly irritated...Reborn.

"Why did you bring a half-feral puppy here?" he asked bluntly.

"What makes you think I'm responsible?"

"Well we didn't really have an influx of Italians fluent in Japanese until you arrived and the entire thing screams set-up," said Kaede bluntly.

Reborn smirked at that.

"He's a Storm that's roughly the right age, and has good potential into becoming your right hand, should you prove worthy."

"Yeah right. What's the real reason?" asked Tsuna.

"He also happens to be related to your grandfather's Storm Guardian and right hand G."

"And there it is. We'll see whether he's worth the effort of house training, but I have the distinct feeling he's too brash to deal with," said Kaede.

Considering Hayato's ambition was to be the Right Hand of someone important, Tsuna really only had one solution.

He made Hayato a cover for Kaede. No one would expect his lover to be his actual right hand, especially if they did it right. And it meant she had a bit more leeway to work in the shadows, where no one would see her coming.

Reborn certainly approved of the idea. Even if he did wish the two would quit calling the Storm "puppy", and knew damn well that Kaede and Tsuna were going to be searching for a "proper" Storm Guardian.

That didn't mean they would abandon Hayato... proper loyalty was hard to come by and he was overly fascinated with Kaede's powers (she did _not_ appreciate being called a UMA)...but at least they were realistic about Hayato's usefulness.


	105. Moonlit Flames Chapter One

Ikuku Tsukino took _one_ look at her niece and had to fight the urge to frown. The poor girl was so shy she was positively skittish!

She bent down and looked little Tsunami in the eye.

"Hello Tsunami-chan. I'm your auntie Ikuko. Your mama is my little sister."

"Auntie?" she repeated from where she was shielding herself behind Nana. Ikuko had to keep her expression neutral.

"Too cute!" said Ikuko. And she meant it.

Tsunami blushed and hid behind her mother a little more. Ikuko gently ruffled her hair... it was a pity it was kept so short. She was sure Tsunami would be absolutely adorable with longer hair. Instead hers was rather short and messy.

Ikuko could tell her little sister was suffering. After the death of their parents, Nana had taken it the hardest and had learned to keep her real feelings hidden so well no one would be able to tell she was falling apart inside.

And she could see with her own eyes Nana was just shy of breaking completely.

"Tsunami-chan, how would you like to play with my son?" asked Ikuko gently.

Tsunami perked up at that, even though Shingo was a few years younger than she was. The two of them were soon playing an educational game, though Ikuko had to fight the urge to frown when she realized Tsunami had a bit of trouble with some of the questions.

The second Nana was assured that her daughter wouldn't overhear, and had a cup of tea before her, she broke down.

"Let me get this straight. The town your _husband_ insisted you move to is full of people who harass and belittle not only you, but your daughter as well?"

Nana nodded miserably.

"Iemitsu said it was a beautiful town and a great place to raise our new family. But then he started to leave, until eventually he didn't bother to come home for months at a time. I haven't seen him for at least a few years now," said Nana. "Worse, the children, parents and even some of the teachers have been mocking my poor Tsu-chan. She's had such trouble with her grades at school and they've even started to call her 'Dame-Tsunami, the walking catastrophe' behind her back. And don't get me started on the housewives there! Without a proper husband around, they've been saying such awful things about us!"

Nana barely avoided breaking down and crying.

"I don't know what to do, Onee-san. I don't think I can take much more of this."

Ikuko was past frowning... she was openly displeased.

"And where is this _husband_ of yours?" she demanded. She was going to have a lot of words to say to Iemitsu Sawada and not a lot of them would be nice...or child appropriate.

It was one thing to be away from home working...it was quite another to almost literally abandon your wife and child for _years_ at a time with next to no contact! At least Ikuko saw her own husband regularly, despite the fact he worked for a magazine and traveled for business.

"He claims to be working construction, though the contact information he gave me went through different companies and he never answered even _once_. And the last time he bothered to visit, all he did was spend a week, eat my cooking and get drunk. He completely dismissed Tsu-chan's request for him to speak to the parents about their harassment, saying that a 'man' had to learn how to stand up for himself!" said Nana furious. "And she hasn't been the same since he brought that strange old man home with him when she was five."

That got Ikuko's attention.

"What old man?"

"He said that the man was his boss, but after their visit Tsu-chan went from a vibrant, happy child who made friends easily into a shy little thing that trips over her own feet regularly. And before you ask, the first thing I did was have her checked over by a doctor to see if that man did anything to her," said Nana furious. "I simply have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Her confidence is completely shot because of those petty children, and the teachers aren't even trying to help!"

Ikuko took a long sip of her tea.

"It sounds like you and Tsunami-chan could use a change in scenery. Or at the very least, Tsunami-chan should switch school districts," said Ikuko firmly.

Nana nodded, her head in her hands.

"Mama?"

Nana put on a brave face, before scooping her child up in a hug. The poor thing was positively tiny for an eleven year old.

"Are you having fun with your cousin?" asked Nana, her mask firmly in place.

Hearing the light growl from her stomach, Ikuko smiled.

"Why don't I bring up some snacks for you two?" she said gently.

Watching the way the little girl ate and backed off if Shingo wanted something instead, Ikuko felt her heart break. Clearly the poor thing was being bullied to the point she couldn't eat her lunch in peace.

Later that night, while the children were asleep, Ikuko broached the subject of taking Tsunami-chan into their house for a few years. At least until she was able to get over her skittish behavior.

Puberty was hard enough without the added harassment of petty children. There was no doubt in Ikuko's mind that the poor girl would suffer a great deal while adjusting to becoming a young woman.

Besides, it wasn't like they didn't have the room for another child.

"Are you sure?" asked Nana.

Ikuko felt sympathy for her younger sister. The poor woman was at her wit's end and had no idea how to help her daughter. She had built herself around the image of a Yamato Nadeshiko after their parents died, and no "perfect housewife" would have a daughter suffering through such trouble in school and have no friends.

"I think both of you need a clean break. Never mind the fact that little Tsunami is going to be a young woman soon. Perhaps this could help her break out of the self-imposed shell she's made around herself," said Ikuko firmly.

Nana was clearly considering it, before a thought occurred to her. One she didn't particularly like, but had to be voiced just in case.

"I think we should do more than that. I think we should change her name as well."

"I agree the 'walking catastrophe' name is a bit harsh, but are you sure?"

"There have been... attempts... on us in the past," admitted Nana reluctantly. "I don't know what my husband actually _does_ , but whatever his job is, it's been attracting some very unsavory people from Italy to us. I know I've heard them mention something about a 'young lion' and how they were going to get even by targetting his family. And I've seen my picture once in the hands of a foreigner."

Now Ikuko was alarmed.

"How does Usagi Tsukino sound?" asked Ikuko with false levity. Changing the name wasn't much, but it would definitely insure no one would find Nana's little girl easily.

* * *

Usagi, formly Tsunami, looked at her new home with trepidation. She knew her mother had made arrangements with her aunt Ikuko. Her entire summer had been spent getting her grades up with tutors who sat her down and explained things she had never really gotten. Quite a few of them were furious at the fact none of her teachers bothered to do their jobs and help her, or even point her in the direction of someone who could.

Then again most of the tutors in question were friends of her aunt, so it made sense they would be angry.

"Usagi-chan, welcome home!" said Ikuko.

Tomorrow would be her first day at her new school.

"Ah... I'm home," she replied back.

Ikuko gently ruffled her hair.

"I was thinking we go do something fun and maybe have a girl's day. What do you think of that idea, Usagi-chan?" said Ikuko.

Usagi tilted her head.

"What's a girl's day?"

Ikuko's heart wanted to break at that innocent question.

"Its a day where girls go out and have fun like shopping for clothes, get our nails and hair done, and do all sorts of things without the boys around."

Usagi looked at her feet.

"I always get my nice clothes dirty though."

Ikuko pulled her little niece into a hug.

"Don't worry Usagi...I'm sure you'll find some new friends in your new school," said Ikuko. "And if the boys pick on you like before, I'll have a stern word with their parents."

Ikuko wisely kept her silence at the doubt she had in her eyes. Usagi had very little reason to believe that her aunt would interfere when her mother couldn't do anything about it.

 _A little while later..._

As she thought, Usagi looked absolutely adorable with longer hair.

Ikuko couldn't resist the urge to hug her once the extensions were in.

"Too cute! You look just like Nana did at that age!" cooed Ikuko.

"I look like Mama?" said Usagi, perking up.

"Ah, Ikuko-san! It's been some time!"

Ikuko turned and saw one of her friends. She was having a girl's day with her daughter, who happened to be Usagi's age.

Usagi hid behind her aunt.

"Who's this adorable little cutie?"

"This is my niece Usagi. She's going to be joining K-elementary this week," said Ikuko.

"Poor dear is rather shy isn't she?"

"She was bullied quite a bit in her previous school. Is this little Naru?" asked Ikuko, looking at the red-haired girl next to her mother.

"What class are you going to be in, Usagi-chan?" asked Naru.

"Ah... Class 1-A," she replied.

"Hey, that's my class! Why don't we sit together during lunch?" said Naru.

"I... would like that," said Usagi shyly. Though the adults could hear the doubt in her voice.

* * *

 _Two days later..._

Naru brightened when she saw Usagi. Though she frowned briefly when Usagi went to sit in the corner to eat by herself. It bothered her that the other girl flinched when she came near her.

"Hey, Usagi-chan, how about you join us for lunch? Isn't it lonely eating by yourself?"

Usagi blinked, her brown eyes wide with surprise and confusion. She picked up her lunch and allowed the auburn haired girl to lead her without resisting.

Every day at lunch, Naru would drag Usagi to join them. The girl would sit silently and eat her food, as if she was surprised that anyone was including her to their group.

It wasn't until a month had passed that she spoke up.

"This...is nice."

"She spoke!" said Kaede.

"You have a really nice voice," said Shizuru.

Usagi blushed and hid behind her juice.

"How come you always sit silently?" asked Naru, curious.

"I... never had anyone to talk to before."

"Really?" said Naru.

"No one wanted me around," said Usagi quietly. "The other kids at my old school weren't very nice at all."

"What about after school? What sort of clubs or activities did you do?" asked Shizuru.

"I didn't have anything. No one wanted the 'walking catastrophe' in their group, and no one wanted to spend time with me after class was over," said Usagi sadly. "I used to go home and read my manga, since the teachers didn't really do more than chastise me for turning in homework with the bare minimum on it."

"What sort of manga?" asked Naru, trying to change the subject.

"I like sci-fi?" said Usagi after a moment. "I really like the _Gundam_ series, and I find certain fantasy genres to be really fun to read."

"Oh, do you like Miyazaki films?" asked Kaede eagerly.

"I've never really seen any," said Usagi.

"You know what this means, right?" said Shizuru.

"Sleepover at Kaede-chan's house!" said Naru with cheer.

Usagi didn't think much of it, but her shock at being included was pretty obvious when Naru brought it up with her aunt.

Though there were a few...mishaps...whenever they brought up Usagi's home town.

The day that Usagi expressed her surprised that they could eat on the rooftop freely during lunch, for instance.

"You've never had a rooftop lunch before, Usagi-chan?" asked Naru.

"A scary demon always claimed the one at our school. If you tried to eat there he would bite you to death. Then again he always gets really cranky if someone wakes him up or is late to class..."

"Demon?" said Naru shivering.

"Hibari-sempai is so strong that not even the teachers bother to scold him anymore," said Usagi. "He beats up high schoolers too."

"He sounds really scary!" said Shizuru shivering.

Usagi shook her head.

"Hibari-sempai doesn't like fighting the weak. He only goes after people who look like they might give him a challenge and break the rules a lot. The worst I've ever gotten from him is a bump on the head for being late. He takes care of the weaker kids by insuring the bullies know that someone will come after them if they do worse than minor harassment," said Usagi. "Sort of like a big, grumpy wolf that protects his territory."

She would openly admit she respected and admired Hibari Kyouya. He was scary, and violent, but he didn't abuse his power or hurt the weak. It was because of him that she had bothered going to school at all in Namimori, because she felt secure that it would never escalate past minor harassment or harsh words.

"Sounds like you have a crush on him!" said Shizuru.

Usagi blanched at that.

"I wouldn't dare! Hibari-sempai would never go for a small rabbit like me. I just admire him is all."

Kaede changed the subject.

"I heard that they have a miko-in-training over in Higurashi shrine! She can give predictions and they really come true!"

Usagi perked up at that.

"Do they do charms too?"

"Of course!" said Kaede.

"Why don't we go over there for the weekend?" suggested Naru. "Exams are coming up and every little bit helps!"

Usagi nodded shyly. A charm for good grades might help, especially considering she still got confused on some parts.


	106. Brothers in Arms Chapter One

When Renato caught the scent of something absolutely heavenly coming from the house despite the fact that there shouldn't be anyone in the small manor Luce _insisted_ they stay in together, he surprised them all by walking in a brisk manner with a look of eager anticipation on his face.

Seeing him happily hug a slightly smaller man with wild light caramel colored hair, warm eyes and wearing an apron was even more surprising.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"I followed the sound of a grumpy bear," deadpanned the other man with a slight accent.

Renato looked at the man with some fondness and amusement.

"Let me guess, the idiots were coming by and harassing you again?"

The expression the other man had on his face said volumes.

"Renato, who is this?" asked Luce.

"My name is Sora Sinclair. I'm this idiot's brother," said the stranger.

The others looked between Sora and Renato.

"You look nothing alike," said Lal.

"Not a drop between us," agreed Sora. "However I'm sure a soldier such as yourself is familiar with the concept of 'brothers in arms'. I've been taking care of this idiot since we were both teenagers."

"And by taking care of, you mean...?" asked Fon.

"He's a house husband," deadpanned Renato. "He cooks, he cleans, he does laundry, he patches me up until my flames finish the job without complaint."

"He cooks?" said Skull with interest.

"I finished making dinner, and there's some rice in the cooker," said Sora with a smirk. "I've also finished doing the laundry and I've left them folded just inside your rooms."

That sent shivers of alarm down the more paranoid of their lot.

"How do you know who's room belongs to who?" asked Viper.

"Your flame signature," replied Sora. "Cleaning them just removes the dust and grime, not the flames that have seeped into them. I didn't do more than leave the clothes inside, so don't worry."

Renato easily walked up to where the stove was, took out a plate and doled out some of the stew and the rice, before taking a bite.

"Thank god... none of them can cook, and the limited amount Fon can is all far too spicy for anyone but him to handle."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"What do you expect from a career military woman and a Sky from an established bloodline?" drawled Sora.

Seeing Renato eating without a second thought, most of them took some...and almost melted.

"Oh god... this tastes way better than your attempts!" said Skull.

"It's better than anything any of us could make," said Viper.

Luce eyed Sora with interest.

"Could you stay if we paid you?" she asked.

"Renato chase off the original staff again?" asked Sora with sympathy. She nodded with a wince. "Well since I was planning to stick around until he was free to chase off the idiots trying to blackmail me into their famiglia I don't see why not."

Renato growled at that.

"Who was it this time?"

"Some morons from the Esterneo again," said Sora dismissively. "Considering I put up with you, their thugs barely rate a 'meh' when it comes to intimidation."

Skull snickered at that.

Any complaints about Sora's presence died upon realizing he would do all the chores no one wanted, along with all the cooking so long as someone else did the dishes.

Viper was just happy because his presence meant they could cut back on eating out. It was starting to become ridiculously expensive.

* * *

Sora took _one_ look at the grumpy Renato who looked ready to 'train' Skull, which mostly consisted of him taking his bad mood out on the poor Cloud until he got bored, and put his hand on his hip. He just knew Renato was having one of _those_ days because he deliberately bumped into the table where Viper was attempting to balance the budget, which made the coins scatter all over the floor. Viper scowled at with a dark expression.

"Renato, sit."

Renato glared at him.

"Sit," said Sora, pointing firmly at the couch.

The sun grumbled, but sat down, uncaring of the fact everyone was watching the exchange. Especially Skull, who had already learned to sense Renato's foul moods which resulted in a lot of pain for him.

Renato stayed where he was as Sora pulled a chair and sat in front of him. He then took his hands and began to rubbing Renato's head in a particular tempo. Fon seemed to figure out what Sora was doing first, because he watched with close interest.

Renato's frame was tense at first, but slowly began to melt under Sora's ministrations until he relaxed completely.

"I keep telling you to drink more water, rather than drinking all that coffee. You wouldn't be so crabby," said Sora.

"Water is for horses and the boring," scowled Renato.

"Your precious coffee is made of water and ground up beans," deadpanned Sora flatly. "Most drinks have water in them."

Renato scowled at him, but his eyes began to slowly close.

"Take a nap, you overgrown bear," said Sora.

To the disbelief of everyone there, and the relief of Skull, Renato laid down and started snoring lightly.

"HOW?" said Skull with intense interest.

"Renato gets tension headaches. His mood tends to get worse the stronger it is...and he keeps getting them because he refuses to drink anything save for those highly-caffeinated espressos all the time," explained Sora. "Once I figured out the problem, I went and looked for methods to deal with it without resorting to medication."

"Can you teach me?" asked Skull, almost pleading.

"Sure," said Sora with sympathy. "Gods only know Renato was a complete troll until I figured the trick to dealing with him. The pressure point trick was something I had to learn through trial and error though. You would be better off asking Fon for help there."

"How did you earn Renato's trust to the point he would listen to you like that?" asked Fon.

"I fed him, and let him crash on my couch," said Sora. "Once he figured out I had no intentions of using him beyond as an intimidation factor to idiots who can't seem to get the memo that flame active does _not_ mean that I want to join a famiglia and that yes, I am perfectly happy being a 'house husband' and helping at a mafia-run bar, we ended up bonding. Or it could have been the fact I saved him after a particularly nasty hit where some jackass don attempted to set him up in order to trick him into joining."

"It was mostly the fact you shot those thugs who were planning to drag me to their don while I was close to bleeding out and the fact you put up with me being a complete asshole...without trying to poison me," said a voice from the couch. "And the coffee. Can't forget the coffee."

"Go back to sleep your _highness_. I am not dealing with you when you have a headache that bad," said Sora without turning around.

Lal snickered at that.

Fon looked at Sora speculatively.

"How good are you with hand to hand?"

"A sloppy intermediate. I'm decent enough to avoid being called a complete novice, but I've never had any formal training...just the bar room stuff Renato's helped me to figure out. I'm a decent shot mostly because there was no way Renato would ever let his brother be incompetent with guns," said Sora.

"Would you like to learn?"

It was clear Fon found Renato's brother fascinating, and not because of the ease the young man had at handling the prickly Sun in a foul mood.

Seeing the open interest in his eyes Fon smiled. He had realized fairly early on that Sora had Asian roots, mostly because of the little quirks he had. It hadn't taken much to narrow down that Sora had likely been raised in Japan.

At least it meant he wouldn't have to suffer through the Italians idea of rice. The so-called Chinese restaurants were more inclined to used instant rice, or could never get the texture quite right.

Sora then turned to a visibly irritated Viper. He went and got a broom and dustpan to make it easier to collect the coins. Once he had gotten all of them, he presented the pan to an irritated Viper.

"Thanks."

"I may not be very good at budgeting, but isn't it a little ridiculous to keep everything on paper?" he asked.

"It's not like I have anything more secure to keep the records on," said Viper.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, before an idea occurred to him.

"I may have something that could help immensely, though I'll definitely have to give one to Verde later so he doesn't try to steal it from you."

Seeing the curious expression on Viper's face, Sora grinned.

"Besides... I'm still trying to train that idiot scientist into leaving his cave regularly."

"Who are you calling an idiot scientist?" said Verde irate, having caught that part.

"You," said Sora, without any hesitation. Skull snickered at the pissed off look on Verde's face. "Because you're the type of genius that can come up with the most amazing of inventions, yet fails to take into account something as basic as sleep, food and staying clean for the sake of getting a project done quicker."

Dead silence. Viper was the first to smirk.

"He's not wrong."

Verde looked annoyed.

"And what was that comment about 'training' me?" he snapped.

"I meant I want to drill it into your head that you need to actually take care of yourself, rather than disregard the basic necessities your body needs for the sake of science. You have no idea how important sleep actually is, and if you agree to my terms and conditions I have two things that will catch your full interest as well as present an interesting challenge."

"Please, what could possibly be worth my time and having to listen to your demands?"

Sora smirked darkly.

"Oh ye of little faith," he said. At that moment, it was easy to see how he was related to Renato, even if it wasn't by blood.

Sora reached into his pocket, and pulled out an odd rectangular machine.

"What is _that_?" asked Skull, as he was closet.

"This little device is capable of taking pictures, recording blackmail, playing music...and acting as a flashlight."

"Bullshit," said Verde.

Sora pressed a small button on the side, before he swiped and tapped something on the device. Without any warning, the sound of music could be heard from it.

"What song is that?" asked Viper.

Fon tilted his head.

"Is that Japanese?" he asked.

Sora grinned at him.

"Well I _am_ half-Japanese after all. Drives Renato nuts because he usually needs me to translate it," said Sora smugly, before he swiped his hand again. This time he got Fon to blink, before he was smiling a little wider.

Mainly because the song he was playing now was in Chinese.

Verde wasn't the only one staring at the tiny rectangle in Sora's hand.

A few more taps, and they could clearly see a section of the device lighting up as well as a mid-powered flashlight. He also aimed it at a gobsmacked Lal and Verde's direction, and they heard a shutter click. Another tap, and he easily held it in a way that revealed the picture he had just taken.

Viper's eyes gleamed under their hood.

"You said it can record blackmail, correct?"

Sora's grin was positively _evil_.

A few more swipes and a tap...and they clearly saw a moving picture of Renato attempting to cook, complete with sound.

"I thought I told you to destroy that!" said Renato, his head popping out from over the couch with an annoyed expression.

"Like hell am I deleting evidence that you suck when it comes to the kitchen," said Sora. He smirked at the expression Viper had on their face. "I have something a bit bigger than this that would help you with keeping records, and it can save your work without having to keep paper everywhere. It can also do the math for you, if you set it up right."

Viper was definitely interested in what Sora had that he was willing to loan them.

Sora then looked at Verde.

"Of course I could also give you one as well, though it's going to come with some compromises on your part."

"What sort of compromises?"

"Things like actually taking a shower or a bath once every three days, regardless of whatever you're working on and eating at least one meal with everyone, as well as actually sleeping...even if it's something as simple as taking a nap for a couple of hours," said Sora bluntly.

Verde blinked.

"That's it?" said Verde.

"I could care less what you're working on in that dungeon of yours, so long as it doesn't bring the Vindice down on our ass," said Sora. "However I _do_ care that you're at least doing the bare minimum of taking care of yourself. Especially since our resident Sky clearly doesn't have a clue what's she's doing in regards to proper team dynamics."

"What does that mean?" said Lal.

Luce looked almost hurt hearing that.

Sora looked at her without any remorse or sympathy.

"Being pregnant is not an excuse to let someone like Renato openly bully Skull simply because he's in a bad mood. You shoved everyone in a house without regards to their personality at all, and seem to have fallen into the same trap every other Italian I've met had regarding flames and their 'personality'. I honestly don't know _why_ people insist on claiming Skies make great leaders when their only real skill seems to be playing peace keeper and diplomat between the various flame types. Just because they have no outward combat-related trait and act as a spiritual glue doesn't make them leader material."

Dead silence.

"Actually, he has a point. It _is_ rather annoying that I automatically get labeled untrustworthy because I'm a Mist," said Viper.

"And everyone expects me to act as a meat shield who insists on drawing attention to myself simply due to the fact I'm a Lightning," agreed Verde.

Sora looked smug.

"If that's true, then what's your flame?" asked Luce.

Without a word, Sora's right hand light up with vibrant if slightly weak, purple flames.

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a Cloud...unless the kitchen is your territory," said Viper.

"Actually it's my secondary. But most people take one look at purple flames and back off once I make it clear they're starting to annoy me," admitted Sora. "But if you really want to know what my primary is, you could always ask Renato. I'd be more surprised if he hasn't figured it out already, despite the fact I've never actually shown it to him."

He looked at Lal.

"To be honest, I'm more surprised Rain is your primary. You always felt like a Cloud and Mist more than a Rain."

"Seriously?" said Lal.

"She could have it as her secondaries," commented Fon.


	107. Flameheart Chapter One

**Yes people, I have finally gotten around to reading My Hero Academia. Enjoy the crossover.**

* * *

" _Isn't that the Sawada boy?"_

" _His poor mother...giving birth to a son like that."_

" _What an embarassment, being quirkless!"_

Quirks. One day, a child was born with a unique gift...it was the sign of things to come, as soon children were being born with special unique powers that would be known as "quirks". Nearly every child had them these days, though a small number of the population was "quirkless".

According to the popular opinion of Namimori, Tsunayoshi Sawada was born "quirkless", and thus was an even bigger embarrassment to his family.

Even his own mother had fallen prey to such thinking, through no real fault of her own. Then again, she had long since given up on her son before he fully entered middle school.

Tsuna tuned them out with his music. It wasn't like _he_ cared about what they thought.

He dodged the Disciplinary Committee...and more importantly their leader Hibari Kyouya.

It had taken some doing to figure out the range of Hibari's quirk, which gave him supernatural awareness of his "territory", but once he did it made things so much easier.

Or perhaps it was a Hibari thing where they had unlimited ability to find people within an area they had claimed.

Either way, Tsuna didn't particularly care.

Once out of the 'territory range' of the terrifying Skylark who went after those who broke the rules...like skipping class... Tsuna broke out into a run.

It had taken him two years to learn how to run without tripping over nothing.

It had taken him even longer to develop a way to survive even without access to his quirk.

Contrary to popular belief, Tsuna was not actually "quirkless".

For some inane reason, his sperm donor decided to seal his quirk away without even consulting anyone on the matter. It wasn't like quirks were _rare_ after all... Tsuna had three kids in his class who had odd 'extras' like tails or animal ears. Hell, his own _mother_ had a quirk that allowed her to keep the house clean without having to bring out any cleaning supplies!

So the fact Iemitsu decided to seal his quirk away before it had a chance to fully manifest and develop was extremely suspicious.

Tsuna still couldn't figure out how or _why_ Iemitsu had asked the old man to seal his quirk away. The only reason he knew his father was responsible was because the trauma of it left an imprint in his subconcious and the memory had merely needed a nudge to come back.

He simply couldn't understand their thought process at all, unless they had sensed something about his quirk and felt threatened by it...like he was a potential rival or something equally ridiculous.

Despite their best attempts, they couldn't fully surpress his quirk. However thanks to their actions, he was forced to develop a secondary personality that managed to keep the seal from ruining his life even more than it already had.

He called that other voice in his head Homura.

Tsuna almost hated the current society. Everyone thought that quirks were everything, and those without them were "useless" or to be pitied. Even his own mother had given up on him because of it.

Which was why he retaliated the only way he knew how. After reading so much manga, the answer became painfully obvious to him.

The first thing he did was work on his coordination. It took him two long, painful years to determine that whatever kept his quirk from appearing had set warning signs. Homura was a huge help there...he could 'sense' when the seal or whatever was blocking his powers was about to act up and screw him over.

Once he began to pick up on when the block would act up, training became much easier. He was still considered "pathetic", but at least he wasn't clumsy anymore.

The next step was increasing his strength... he took to rock climbing on a cliff that was just outside the city limits and therefor not part of Hibari's territory...that was both painful and very rewarding, as he developed his new favorite hobby. It didn't take much for good old fashioned training to take effect.

He was in better shape than half the kids in his school, baring a few oddballs like Hibari or Sasegawa-sempai.

Once he was at a point he felt comfortable with, he looked into some martial arts training. Long before quirks became a thing, people would defend themselves with basic hand-to-hand combat. No weapons involved.

Guns were difficult to come by in Japan, not to mention socially frowned upon. For someone like him, just buying one would raise a lot of alarms in the heads of authorities...especially Hibari.

Swords were a no go as well. Never mind that it took years of training, the simple fact was that most blades tended to be custom made for specific heroes only and the rest were dull showpieces. And again, buying a weapon would raise too many flags considering he was constantly bullied.

The simple fact was that any sort of weapon was going to raise flags in the minds of the authorities and the Pro-Heroes, never mind Hibari.

Martial arts was literally his only option. Fortunately there were plenty of videos to be found so he didn't have to suffer through the mockery of a real class. It meant he had to take his time and figure out what he was doing wrong, but it was better than nothing.

Besides, no one would think twice about him learning martial arts for self-defense purposes.

He was "quirkless" after all, and villains didn't often limit themselves to just the Pro Heroes when they were up to no good.

Tsuna resigned himself to yet another weekend of rock climbing, martial arts training, and generally avoiding humanity. It wasn't like he had much else to do, since his middle school years were coming to a close and he had no real goal in life beyond finding the two who had messed with his quirk to the point it was unable to come out and making their life hell.

And yes, that was probably _villain-_ like thoughts, but to be honest he couldn't bring himself to give a damn. They deserved everything they got for ruining his childhood with their idiocy and delusions of adequacy.

He really wished something would happen. Something that would allow him to transcend his own personal hell.

He just didn't expect to get _family_ out of the deal.

* * *

Dead silence. That was the only way to describe the scene.

It was another ordinary day of heroes and villains. Random bad guy shows up, causing a stir and the civilians wait for a Pro Hero to arrive and deal with the issue so that they could continue on their peaceful day like normal, save for an interesting story to tell their families later.

The villain's quirk wasn't all that impressive, really. Just some minor strength amplification, but his ability to use it was below acceptable limits for the hero career path. Never mind the fact that the guy's personality left much to be desired.

It was pretty clear he wasn't from Namimori, or Hibari would have put the man in his place long before he became a public nuisance.

Hibari was being his usual violent self, but was currently out dealing with some new delinquents in the area and thus unavailable to deal with the villain disrupting _his_ town.

Tsunayoshi Sawada, the "quirkless disaster" had been passing by minding his own business with his earbuds in, ignoring the entire thing when it happened.

The villain spotted him, and decided the oblivious fourteen year old was the perfect hostage for when the Pro Heroes finally got off their ass and made it to the scene. They were only ten minutes away, after all.

Except that didn't happen. The moment his hand touched Tsuna's shoulder, the teen reacted in a manner no one expected.

He grabbed the hand, then did a basic aikido throw before punching the man so hard in the gut that he was left wheezing. Then, for good measure, Tsuna began to kick him when he was down right in the balls.

Tsuna looked at the villain with a positively scathing expression.

"Power means nothing if you don't bother to learn how to use it correctly. And I'd love to see how you explain to your friends how a quirkless civilian kicked your ass long before the heroes even arrived," he spat.

Tsuna put his headphones back on and continued heading to his usual training spot, unaware of the man watching him from the roofs.

All Might would have done something, except the teen had beaten the villain long before he would have reached him.

A quirkless civilian had beaten a villain? It was unheard of!

However he wasn't there to scout out potential talent...even if he _was_ looking for a successor to his quirk.

No, the entire reason he was in the city at all was the recent news he received after looking up an old girlfriend from his first days as a proper Hero.

Learning she had been pregnant when she broke up with him had come as a shock, but none more so than the fact she was smart enough to hide the knowledge he had a daughter in the wake of how many enemies he made as he rose to the number one spot. He could hardly blame her for hiding their child from the press, because any number of villains would have happily made an example of her.

He looked at the address his ex had given him. Perhaps it would be best to ask a local where the neighborhood was.

 _A few hours later..._

Tsuna took one look at the odd scarecrow of a man in his house, and dismissed him. He only partially acknowledged the fact he was home, before heading back up to his room to study.

Today had been mentally exhausting, in more ways than one. He just knew tomorrow would be worse.

"Tsu-kun! Come down and meet your grandfather!" called his mother cheerfully.

Wait, what?

Tsuna took off his headphones. He could have sworn his mother had said that his _grandfather_ was here. A man he had never met in his life, and who his grandmother never talked about outside of the fact he was one of the more famous Pro Heroes, which was why she never gave out his name.

He walked downstairs, a dubious expression on his face.

"I thought Grandma said that she couldn't tell her ex boyfriend about us because it was too dangerous?"

"More like I had no reason to rekindle things with an ex, since it only put her at risk. Besides, the fan girls would have eaten her alive back then," corrected the odd scarecrow. "Aren't you the one who took out the villain earlier?"

Tsuna blanched.

"I really don't want the Pro Heroes bothering me. Besides, the second they find out I was registered quirkless they'll just get on my case for doing something reckless," he replied quickly.

"From what I saw, I doubt it. You were minding your own business when he went after you specifically. Clearest cut case of self-defense I've seen in a while. Not to sure about the kicking him when he was down part though."

"Are you kidding? I had no idea what his quirk was, and considering he was open to a cheap shot I saw no reason why I shouldn't insure he left me alone long enough for the heroes to arrive. Better to put him in the sort of pain all men fear and avoid any further trouble to myself than worry how others will think of me," replied Tsuna incredulous.

To his surprise, the odd man started chuckling.

"Well said. Well said indeed. How did you perform that throw anyway?"

"You can find any number of martial arts videos online. At least that way I didn't have to suffer my classmates mocking me about not having a quirk while I was trying to get stronger," deadpanned Tsuna. "Aikido is very useful, especially for someone as scrawny as me."

Tsuna got the distinct impression his mystery Grandfather actually approved of that. Even if he had absolutely no idea which hero his grandfather was.

* * *

Tsuna...couldn't help but stare when he found out his grandfather was in fact the number one Hero, All Might. Suddenly the knowledge his grandmother kept their existence a secret from his grandfather made far too much sense.

It was no secret that All Might was both powerful...and had a great deal of enemies who would happily use his family against him if they found out he had children. Much less a 'quirkless' grandson.

He still didn't get why his grandfather insisted on seeing how he spent his free time. At least it was the weekend, so Hibari wouldn't bother tracking him down later.

"So...you do a lot of rock-climbing?"

"Not like I have any friends," snarked Tsuna. Now that he was outside the limits of Namimori, his real personality came out. Instead of a timid weakling there was a snarky, downright bitter teenager who was sick and tired of being pitied for something he had no control over. Especially when it wasn't true in the first place.

He just found it easier to ignore everyone and pretend his classmates didn't exist, regardless of how much it pissed them off. Why bother to befriend anyone when they would treat you like you were a helpless child because you were 'quirkless'?

"No one wanted to hang out with you?" he asked.

"After the neighbors quit hiding their opinion that I shamed my family for not having a quirk, I quit caring about others," admitted Tsuna. "I learned it hurt less if I spent my time trying to get stronger the old fashioned way, before quirks became common, than it was to make friends who don't actually care. Besides, most of the parents told them not to be friends with me, in case my condition was contagious or some nonsense."

"Oh? What sort of training do you do?" he asked, though there was a hint of empathy in his voice.

"Well as you can see I got into rock climbing. That helps with my agility and upper body strength. And I found several sites that teach at-home students how to fight with martial arts, since it's one of the few ways people can learn how to defend themselves without having to go through the specialized companies for heroes to get weapons. Never mind that if I bought any weapons it would have raised all sorts of red flags to the authorities and heroes because I'm quirkless and a target for a lot of bullies," said Tsuna. "Martial arts has been around for centuries and only requires the ability to memorize how to move your body."

Toshinori looked rather pleased hearing how his grandson had found a way around the flashiness of quirks to defend himself. It was more than most heroes bothered to do nowadays.

"What would you do if you had a quirk?" he asked seriously.

"Try out for Pro Hero, I guess. At the very least I would still move out of Namimori and try to find a boarding school with a decent curriculum instead of bothering with a local high school," said Tsuna speculatively. "It's rather pointless trying to plan for the future when everyone around you keeps reminding you that you don't have one."

Tsuna had learned to accept the fact that no one expected anything out of a 'quirkless' child...including his own mother. As if he were an embarrassment that one had to cover up and hide, rather than help along to a decent future. As such, he had never really bothered to think of what he would do with his life.

Toshinori looked at his grandson. A child who had been treated horribly his entire life because of bad luck, to the point even his own mother had given up hope for him. The brief conversation with his daughter had been enlightening...and not in a good way.

Tsuna was dying. Little by little, his empathy for humanity was almost eroded away because of circumstances outside his control. Worse, no one bothered to help him or encourage him to be anything other than "useless".

More than a few people were in denial that Tsuna had beaten a villain, without using a single quirk. As if it was inconceivable that a quirkless child might actually have the ability to _do_ something.

Toshinori looked at his grandson, and his mind made up on what to do almost instantly.

"How about I make you a deal, Tsuna?" he said calmly. "Why don't you come live with me for a while, and in exchange you try to get into Yuuei High?"

Tsuna blinked.

"Isn't that the most difficult to get into high school for pro heroes?" he asked dubiously.

"I didn't say you had to pass. There _are_ other paths that are available through UA besides being a Pro Hero, like support specialist and logistics. But even I can see that you're wasting away here in this small town, so a change of scenery might be good for you."

"And if I did somehow manage to pass the entrance exams?" asked Tsuna, looking interested.

The idea of attending high school had never occurred to him, but at this point he'd leap at any chance to leave Namimori early.

"Then I would make sure you had everything you needed to become a pro hero, so long as you put in the actual effort to do so. That way once you were experienced enough to stand on your own, you could proudly say you're my grandson despite the enemies after me," said Toshinori.

Tsuna thought about his options, but really what choice did he have? Namimori was slowly killing him, and eventually he would end up an empty shell that was bitter against the world in general to the point his ability to connect with others was ruined forever.

"What do I have to lose? I'll try to pass the exam, but I make no promises," said Tsuna.

"That's the spirit. Since it's going to be eleven months before the next exam begins, I'll put you through some extra training. Fair warning though... I've been selected as one of the special instructors at the school. At the very least I intend to introduce you to some of my colleagues and other pro heroes."

"Joy," said Tsuna dryly.


	108. Star Light, Star Bright Chapter One

**This is a Stargate SG-1/KHR cross.**

* * *

"Just so we're clear here, the second we get home we're going to make their lives hell," said a young woman, though the way she was dressed you would easily mistake her for a slightly long-haired man.

The young woman was dressed in a shirt and trousers, with her hair pinned back and her modest bust hidden by a jacket. She wore an ornate ring on a chain around her neck, as she had been quick to hide it after they were captured. She had caramel-colored hair, amber-colored eyes and looked vaguely European with a mixture of Japanese origins.

"Oh abso-freaking-lutely!" said her companion.

He was dressed in rough military fatigues, with a camo bandanna holding back sunny blond hair and sharp blue eyes. His very aura screamed "military", and he held himself loosely. He had distinct European features and had all the hallmarks of a soldier in his prime.

He had chosen to join her in the 'experiment' partly out of boredom but mostly because he was in yet another rough patch with a woman he was slowly starting to fall out of love with, despite holding a massive crush for her for over thirty years. He had hoped that marrying her would resolve his feelings for her, but it had fallen through almost immediately.

Hence why he agreed to escort the young woman in the experiment. It was supposed to be a simple alteration to the annoyance that was the Ten Year Bazooka, and instead they ended up _captured_ by freaking aliens and thrown into a holding cell for god knows what.

Needless to say both of them were going to have some rather _strong_ words for the idiot trio of scientists that landed them in this situation.

The young woman was already plotting several ways to make their lives hell for the nest year and a half, or until they groveled enough that she could forgive them.

It _had_ been a half year of payback originally, but after being captured she had bumped it up.

At least they weren't entirely helpless.

"So princess, what are you going to do to the trio of morons who got us into this situation?" he asked mock cheerfully.

"I was thinking of telling Mammon to audit their last five years along with a massive cut to their personal experiment budget. And then I was going to have Hibari and Mukuro 'test' their more sensitive experiments together," she replied darkly. "And that's to _start_ with."

He smirked. Mammon was _very_ nitpicky about budgets so sending them to audit the last five years was sure to be hell as they had to get through that before they were allowed to do _anything_. Sending the oil and water combination of the Mist and Cloud in to test their experiments at the same time was just cruel and unusual punishment... those two could barely stand to be in the same room together for more than five minutes without trying to kill each other. Or at least without causing several millions worth of property damage just to start with.

Those two caused more holes in the Iron Fort than half the Varia _combined_ when they were in the same country for too long.

Seeing three new people thrown into the cell (two men and a woman, all wearing military fatigues), he nodded towards them.

" _I see them. They don't look like the rest of these people... do you think..."_ she asked in Italian. The people here could barely understand English, much less Italian or Japanese.

" _Yeah, they might be from our alternate Earth,"_ he replied.

Which meant these people might be their best shot at getting home. If not now, then certainly later...because no one anticipated there would be multiple inhabitable worlds on this alternate universe.

Hayato was going to be _thrilled_ to say the least when he found out.

He waited for the new people to notice him. He could already tell who was in command by the way he acted.

Sure enough, the _second_ the older man saw what he was wearing he made a beeline right for him.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, United States Air Force."

"Colonello, and this is my charge..." he said nodding to her.

"Kiseki Sawada, but everyone calls me Mira," she replied, though her English was slightly accented with her Japanese roots.

She was fluent enough to be understood, so Reborn had never really tried to train her accent out of her. Not that she would have had the time for it.

"How did you end up here?"

"A trio of idiot scientists were experimenting with something they probably shouldn't have, and we volunteered to test their new device out only to end up knocked out cold and then captured shortly after. When I get my hands on them I'm going to express my extreme displeasure with the fact they didn't bother to test it properly," said Mira annoyed. "Are you from Earth?"

Seeing the expression on his face, that was a yes.

"Chicago, actually."

"Milan," said Colonello cheerfully.

"A small town near Nagasaki," said Mira.

"So how did an Italian and a Japanese end up here?" he asked suspiciously.

"Again, idiot scientists who should have known better. Colonello actually volunteered to act as my escort since he had nothing better to do and because my friends would never allow me to go through a portal alone," said Mira.

"I bet you anything Giannini managed to look into what they were doing. That would definitely explain why we landed in the wrong area," said Colonello.

"If he did, then I am going to let him alter Hibari's tonfas and then give Hibari full permission to bite that idiot to death for it," said Mira flatly. "He should _know_ better by now."

Mira and Colonello migrated over to the area where the other Earthlings were. After a quick round of introductions, they settled into a quiet night, with one of them keeping watch while the others rested. O'Neill seemed slightly relieved to have another military man with them, especially since Colonello admitted to being an excellent sniper and demolitions expert.

The blond had no issue following orders, since their goal was pretty obvious anyway. They had to return to Earth, alive and mostly undamaged.

 _A few hours later..._

Mira was unashamed of the fact she used a rather clever application of Harmony to keep her and Colonello hidden. The idea of these...things...getting their slimy hands on someone with flames was enough to give her nightmares.

A good thing too...one of those aliens actually looked in their direction with interest before it was forced to dismiss her. Since she was 'in Harmony' with her surroundings, they were essentially invisible to them.

The second the 'lead' foot soldier turned on his comrades, Mira didn't think twice. She grabbed one of the staff weapons and tossed it to Colonello, before grabbing a second one. He didn't need any input from her, just a quick overview on how to operate the staff from Jack as they went through the hole the American made.

"Think this thing would work as well as a bo staff?" she joked with Colonello.

"Probably, though the weight might throw you off at first," he replied with a grin.

Now that they were out and _armed_ , the tables had turned on the aliens. The only reason they had been caught in the first place was that A) they were still disoriented from the malfunctioning device, and B) because they had no idea they even _were_ aliens until they went through the Stargate and one of their eyes glowed.

One demonstration of the advanced technology was enough to convince them to bide their time. It wasn't like the aliens would know how to counter Flames, much less something like Mira's X-Burner at full blast.

"I almost forgot to ask... was the date on your watch set correctly?" asked Colonello to Jack.

"Yeah, why?"

Colonello winced.

"Mira, I think you should set your old man on those idiot scientists," he said.

Mira blinked. It was something of an inside joke that Reborn was more of a father figure to her...despite being an absolute asshole and demonic tutor from hell...than Iemitsu was.

After the first time she called him Papa (with Iemitsu in the same room no less), the joke had stuck. Reborn, the tsundere that he was, had made her life a little worse for a month before he admitted he had already seen her as the daughter he never had, and they had settled into the relationship within a few days of her Harmonizing with him.

Mira gave him a long look.

"Do I want to know?"

"If Jack's watch is accurate, then we're stuck in the _nineties_ ," he said flatly.

"...You're right, those idiots could use a few months of having to deal with Reborn after them personally, if he hasn't already decided to make their lives hell."

Captain Carter, or Sam, looked at them both hearing that.

"What's the issue with the date?"

"Let me put it this way... where we come from, dial-up internet has long been replaced with _wireless_ internet and computer monitors are much smaller and easier to haul around. How much memory does the standard PC have on Earth?" she asked.

"About two hundred gigabytes, at the most, and that's for military computers," said Sam without hesitation.

Colonello groaned.

"Dammit, I hate the nineties," he said.

"Don't worry...my hammer space has technology on _our_ level, and with any luck we can get them up to speed a bit faster so we can contact the others."

"God I hope so, I really do," said Colonello. "Dial-up internet sucked so much..."

To say the Americans were confused was an understatement.

Still, they were able to get through the Stargate back to Earth, despite a few...complications on the way.

Sam was looking at Mira's phone with fascination.

"You're saying this is the level of technology on your planet?"

"To be fair, we come from an alternate Earth that's at _least_ two decades ahead of yours. This is what's known as a smart phone, and yes I do have an extra you can play around with. It's far more versitile and is essentially a small computer compared to the bulky flip-phones you use now," said Mira.

* * *

Since they weren't from another planet, Mira and Colonello were basically stuck on base. Most of the people from Chuulak had already been sent home to where they had been taken from, courtesy of help from Teal'c.

"Here...this is a standard thumb drive I haven't bothered to load anything on. It uses the same USB ports as your computers and it holds a few gigs of memory, which is superior to the...floppy drives... you currently use."

Mira had made herself indispensible to the base simply through the 'advanced technology' she was more than happy to share.

Mostly because it was something they would have developed in a couple of decades anyway. She was just shaving time off of what was possible technology-wise. There wasn't much harm in letting them have a few spares she always carried around, because she had learned in her first year as Vongola Decimo that leaving your laptop out in the Iron Fort was just _asking_ for Reborn or someone else to hack it and leave all sorts of annoying surprises.

Constant Vigilance and all that.

She mastered the use of "mist pockets" or as Spanner liked to call it, Hammer Space, in record time. It made carrying things securely that much easier and it was a rather simple trick once you had the hang of it.

Colonello fit right in with the soldiers...after all, he _was_ a former soldier and it was only because of his Flames that he hadn't discreetly re-enlisted in the first place.

Since he had declared Mira his 'charge', they were given a shared room and the two had settled into a sort of arrangement within the first few days. It wasn't like they could just walk off the base and rent an apartment, so until things settled down they were stuck living inside the mountain.

They had the same restricted access Daniel Jackson had, at least until their own people managed to find them. As far as the Pentagon was concerned, they were 'civilian consults'.

Mira and Colonello wisely did _not_ mention that they were part of the mafia in their world.

"So what does the ring around your neck mean?" asked Sam, trying to make small talk.

Mira blinked, before she realized what Sam meant.

"It's to symbolize the fact I'm the head of the family," she replied. "It belonged to my great-great-great grandfather who founded it, and it's been passed down to nine others before me. Normally I wouldn't have been considered for the position, but the three others before me were killed and the fourth was deemed ineligible due to certain reasons."

All true without giving up too much detail.

"Must be tough," said Sam.

Mira wanted to weep.

"You have _no_ idea. I have to keep a bunch of idiots who think it's _perfectly_ acceptable to throw explosives around for petty arguments or out of general boredom, idiot scientists who can't seem to understand the concept of keeping their damn labs intact is important or to remember important things like sleeping and eating regularly, and two battle-happy morons who can't stand the sight of each other that destroy walls regularly!" said Mira exasperated. "I think the worst part is the paperwork... I still can't look at the number of zeros on the bill without wanting to cry."

Sam stared at her.

"Let me put it this way... testing that device was my way of getting a vacation without them trying to drag me back in order to chain me to my desk for days on end just to clean up after them. We were only supposed to be gone a week at most," said Mira.


	109. Another Soldier Reporting Chapter One

Green eyes sprang open, and a soft curse was heard. She knew it was possible for the Ten Year Bazooka to send people into the future, but she never thought that she would get caught in the Vongola's level of crazy and end up in her _past_! And she _was_ in her past...the surroundings and the fact she recognized the wards confirmed it.

Looking at her tiny, five year old hands, she scowled rather impressively for a child.

Goddamn Vongola. At least this time she could set a lot of things right, provided this didn't suddenly reverse itself in the next five minutes.

As the dark gave into dawn Lal Mirch, formerly Lilac Adhara Potter, wanted to beat the ever living shit out of someone. Preferably Iemitsu...it was _his_ spawn who let his crazies run wild and play around with that stupid bazooka.

Looking at her tiny hands, she was almost glad she had been clipped by that damn curse.

It meant she knew _exactly_ how to adjust her training to get back into what SHE considered acceptable shape, though she was not sticking around Surrey any longer than she had to. She vaguely recalled the day that set her on the military path, though it took her far too much pain and suffering before she started basic training.

The day one of the men who had been overseas serving Queen and country as part of the Royal Navy came back and surprised his kid.

Being part of the military was one of the few careers Vernon would actually approve of, and if she was able to leave around certain papers that mentioned _year-round_ schooling she had little doubt he'd jump at the chance to be rid of her legally in a way the magical enclaves couldn't do anything about. After all, she was getting an education.

Dumbledore would have a hell of a time explaining why he was forcing her to attend the same school as her cousin...especially if she happened to drop hints of Dudley being part of the SAS or something to Vernon. After all, surviving a military academy would look _much_ more impressive to Smeltings and would make them look better to the neighbors.

The Hat always said she would have done well in Slytherin, and Lal wanted no part of the idiocy and bigotry of Privet Drive a second time.

For now she would have to bide her time.

* * *

 _One year later..._

Lal Mirch had to smirk wickedly, in her mind anyway. If Vernon knew he was being deliberately set up by his niece there would be no end of trouble for her. A beating would be the least of her worries.

Vernon saw the brochures for the year-round academies... some families could send their children to be trained not only during the school year, but also do extra training during the summer months as long as they paid for it. It also came with food, a bed, a set uniform and most of the basic amenities.

However the children would have to endure basic training scaled down for their still developing bodies, a strict dietary regimen and and even stricter set of rules that had to be followed or they would suffer punishment like running laps for several hours. Not to mention the _very_ early wake up calls every morning.

Lal found the one that appealed to her the most, and made very sure that the brochure for Smeltings was right next to it as a subtle hint. A little minor compulsion charm made sure that the idea of sending both children to military academy would root itself in Vernon's mind... at the very least she wanted to be sure he enlisted her.

She had to hide a smile as Vernon started making discreet calls late at night, when they were supposed to be sleeping.

Petunia didn't particularly like the idea of sending her "precious Diddikins" away from her, but Vernon managed to soothe her worries by pointing out they would be rid of the 'freak' and that it would 'look less suspicious' if both the children were in the same academy.

Besides, he had no intention of making Dudley stay there over the summer.

Lal inwardly cackled as her 'family' had them enrolled in one of the best military academies in the UK within a month of leaving those brochures out for Vernon to find.

Dudley would be in the 'special' training courses meant for potential officers, while Lal would be in the 'basic' courses for ordinary soldiers. As a result the odds of them crossing paths dropped to zero, as the two courses were on completely different schedules. And there was no chance of him destroying her things ever again, because there were dorm monitors and the girls were kept seperate from the boys.

If he survived military training, then perhaps he wouldn't be a useless waste of space like he had been the first time around. She had not been surprised when Vernon died of a massive heart attack, or that Dudley was killed in a shoot out with some thugs.

* * *

Today was paint ball day, and to say Lal was looking forward to it was an understatement.

Since the teachers couldn't exactly give the kids under ten a _real_ gun, even with parental permission, they substituted the rifles with air soft and paintballs guns instead. Paint ball was a game that could teach the students how to shoot with a much lower risk of accidentally killing anyone. The worst anyone had ever gotten from the game was a nasty bruise and only those that passed the basic safety course was even allowed to join.

She had to wonder if Vernon or Petunia knew exactly what the extra summer courses were. God knew Dudley was going to be very unhappy learning that those who stayed over the summer months got to play paintball and a select few were given permission to practice with real guns.

He was barely keeping up in the officer courses as it was. At this rate he might be very well dropped down to the same lessons she was taking.

Lal grinned as she held the paintball rifle in her hand. In order to make sure the kids didn't accidentally shoot themselves or freak out about the guns, they were permitted to fire off a few test shots so the teachers could instruct them on how to hold the rifle properly and how to reload. They were also given some red permanent markers, to act as 'knives'. The idea was that if you allowed another student to get that close to you, then it would symbolize the same damage that could be done with a knife.

It had taken her three shots to get the range on the gun, and know how much recoil she would be dealing with. There were caches of 'ammo' hidden all around the small forest, some in very unlikely spots. You weren't allowed to use the ammo for the other team, as the summer lessons were only big enough for two groups. Sabotage, however, was allowed within reason.

If you were hit with a Kill Shot (head shots were discouraged, despite the fact everyone was wearing special helmets...everything else was fair game), then you had to walk to the "out" zone and wait for the next round to begin.

Lal was a member of the "Blue" team, which she found slightly ironic as a Rain.

She felt like an attack dog on a leash waiting to be set loose. These poor kids had no idea what they were up against.

The blue team was sent in first, as they had won the coin toss. It was to prevent any 'accidental firing' from either side and to give them the advantage.

She found a reload spot rather quickly, one that was meant for her team. She made sure to mark it and then found a perfect spot to snipe the red team without being seen once the game started properly.

As this was the game for the younger years, it would be impossible to set any 'traps' up to catch the unwary. Besides, this training doubled as a fun way to get the kids used to firing guns and hunting each other.

She wouldn't be surprised if it also gave the teachers a better idea of who would survive real military training and would likely enter the service once they were legally old enough to do so.

Hearing the air horn go off, Lal didn't bother to fight back the feral grin.

 _Outside the forest_

When the first set of 'Red' students came out of the forest after ten minutes in, the teachers were merely amused. Four or five wasn't that unusual.

It took them several long minutes to register something rather important...that each student had been hit with a perfect one-hit kill shot from a blue team member.

"Goddamn sniper! Who the hell is up on that ridge anyway?" complained the red team's captain.

"Ridge?" asked Professor Arnold. He had been a member of the SAS back in the day, and now he was stuck teaching due to a bum knee.

"Some jerk from the blue team is sniping us," complained the red team captain. "We can't get within ten feet of the creek without shots being fired or another man down!"

Professor Arnold knew of the creek...there was only one ridge nearby that would provide decent enough cover for a sniper that was within range of the cheap paint ball rifles they had given the students.

"Worst part is that we could see some of the extra ammo for the red team and none of us could get near it," complained another.

Professor Arnold had to hide a smile. It sounded like someone on the blue team had a good grasp of ambush points. By leaving a supply of extra ammunition out in the open, it turned anyone from the opposite team into a perfect target. Add in the fact they were able to snipe another student with something as boring as a paint ball gun, and it meant the shooter might be slated for 'extra' training later.

So when the air horn went off, and the blue team came out of the forest, the teachers paid special attention to figure out who the sniper was.

Most of the blue team were very confused, as they hadn't actually _seen_ the red team members. Several of them had grouped up together to try and find the red team so they could start the game.

Only one member of the blue team seemed quietly smug about something.

Lilac Potter was something of an anomaly in the academy. Her family had made it clear that she was nothing more than an errant troublemaker and that any punishment necessary to keep her in line was considered 'acceptable'. Her aunt and uncle also made it clear that she was to be kept as seperated from her cousin as possible, and that special treatment should be given to the other boy.

The reality couldn't be further from the truth. The girl they were warned was a 'troublemaker' gave them the least amount of problems, even if she wasn't a morning person at all. She was usually the first one up, her things were well kept and she was generally the most prepared for the morning run and only gave the bare minimum of grumbling during basic training. Her grades were in the top ten, and she almost seemed bored during class despite being able to understand the material.

Dudley, on the other hand, was a spoiled brat who complained far too much and was simply a bully. He might have been thrown into the officer training courses, but he certainly _wasn't_ officer material. He was always the last one up in the morning and was extremely lazy. He never took care of his things, was often reprimanded for his slovenly habits, and he kept attempting to steal the food of others until the teachers made it _very_ clear that such behavior simply wasn't acceptable.

Worse, he kept calling his much smaller cousin a freak and would attempt to pin the blame of any of his own misdeeds on her, despite being nowhere near the area and with an airtight alibi to boot.

There was something deeply wrong with that family.

When the second game started, the teachers paid close attention to Lilac.

Some of them even snuck into position, and noted with some shock that she was able to tell where they were but did nothing about it.

It only took a few minutes to ascertain that Lilac Potter was the mystery sniper.

"That girl is going to go far, you mark my words. She's a natural sniper!" said Professor Emily. She was one of the few female teachers in the school, and the one in charge of the female dorms.

"I have an idea... why don't we switch the courses the two cousins are taking?" suggested Arnold.

"What do you mean?"

"Dursley is far from officer material, and he's consistently at the bottom of the class. Whereas Potter has been in the top ten, if not the top five with consistency since she started this school, and she's trained her ass off during basic to the point she's usually the first one to finish. The fat lump paid for one of them to be in the officer track and the other in the general track... nothing said we couldn't switch their lesson plans around and I highly doubt the Dursley child is going to complain about having an 'easier' course guide," said Arnold.

You could hear the disgust in his voice when he called the 'general' courses easier. The only difference between the two was that the officer lessons was that they were held to a _much_ higher standard and were given harder lessons on top of extra training. After all, an officer had to act as an example of leadership for his men in the field and thus more was expected of them.

Dudley had thus far shown he was more 'lackey' than 'leader'. He would be much better off with the general students.

Besides, Dursley was going to get _exactly_ what he paid for... one student in the general course and one in the officer.

Lal looked at her new lesson plan with interest. Her original one was rather light on the lessons and had plenty of time for personal training.

This new course guide left very little free time, and had several lessons that looked more like a lighter version of what she went through in officer training school when she was in COMSUBIN.

Hearing Dudley brag about being given 'special permission' to drop several classes gave way to suspicion. Especially when she realized that her new lesson plan meant that she would no longer be in the same classes as her friendly acquaintances she had made.

Was it possible the teachers _deliberately_ switched their lesson plans, putting Dudley into the general courses?

By the end of the second day she was sure of it. She knew Dudley was a lazy, boorish braggart who only got away with half the things he did because he was bigger and more inclined to violence... never mind the fact his parents did nothing to curb his bad behavior and were more inclined to ignore it entirely by blaming her.

An evil gleam entered her eyes. Well, if the teachers were going to switch their lesson plans around, she saw no reason to half-ass it like she had been.

Though she was still debating on whether to attend Hogwarts or not.


	110. Midnight Raiders Chapter One

When the future Arcobaleno look at Skull, they saw a civilian. A loud mouthed, weak-willed civilian who had no clue how much he had screwed up because he had awakened to his flames and accepted an offer from a complete stranger. After all, how could someone as loud and obnoxious as the inverted Cloud know how to survive the worst humanity had to offer?

If Renato actually _did_ have the ability to read minds like he claimed, he would have treated Skull _very_ differently. Skull was just too polite to call him on the fact what he was really doing was reading the microexpressions and little tells all humans had to make a scarily accurate guess what people were actually thinking at the time.

He knew this for a _fact_ because if Renato really were psychic, then Skull would have KNOWN and kicked his ass. And not in a 'child throwing a tantrum', but more in a 'you've seriously fucked up and I'm about to demonstrate WHY in as many ways as possible' way.

So Skull smiled. He put up a front and let the others believe him weak...mostly so they didn't try to rely on him to do anything but the most boring tasks they were too 'proud' to do themselves.

The only tolerable one was Fon, and that was because the man didn't mind companionable silences that were only broken by the sound of fine china clinking together and tea being enjoyed. Fon had been openly delighted when he discovered Skull had an entire _cabinet_ of properly stored loose leaf teas from a variety of places, and knew how to brew them correctly. And that the Cloud didn't mind sharing at all with the only person who would properly appreciate his collection.

Skull could hide his true self like a pro. He had a lot of practice putting up a front... he had done it his entire life after all.

Renato put down the papers he had gotten from one of his contacts in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" asked Fon. It wasn't that he cared, but someone had to ask.

"Night Raid struck again. This time they nearly wiped out the Espada famiglia in northern Florence," said Renato in annoyance.

"Mu...not surprising. They've left a lot of unhappy victims in their wake that would be happy to pool together their resources in order to attract that group," said Viper unsympathetic.

"Though it does beg the question...how exactly is Night Raid getting the information needed to pull off such massive operations in such a short time period?" said Fon.

"Um...what's Night Raid?" asked Skull.

"Night Raid is a rogue group that speciliazes in taking out the more unsavory famiglia. If enough victims are created due to their business practices, then they show up out of the blue and have a tendency to wipe it out. I will credit them this though... they at least spare those truly innocent of crimes committed by the famiglia, regardless of whether or not they are connected by blood to the main members," said Luce.

"Huh?" said Skull.

"Night Raid kills the adults and those old enough to understand what is actually going on or even participates in the day to day operations, but leaves the kids too young to understand what their parents actually are alone. Oftentimes the remnants will be found in various orphanages with decent reputations or with the church under the sanctuary laws," clarified Renato. "As a result they're reluctantly tolerated by the mafia. I think the only reason the Vindice haven't tried to arrest them yet is because there has never been evidence of flame use."

"I heard some rumors that Night Raid is a specially selected group that works _for_ the Vindice as a way to discreetly cull the ones that toe the line a bit too much for them to tolerate, but have yet to break the laws," said Viper.

"Either way they've made a lot of the lower rank and file assholes very nervous."

Skull looked mildly interested in this "Night Raid" group and paid Viper for everything they had on them. As far as the Mist was concerned, the annoying Cloud was just another fanboy.

It would only be later that they all realized their error in mistaking the Cloud as "harmless".

* * *

Renato wanted to curse, and he wasn't the only one.

They had known Night Raid had been in the area and had foolishly assumed that after the 'target' had been destroyed that the group would allow their security to lax since odds were that Night Raid had already left the area. They weren't known for sticking around after a massacre after all.

Except the don of this particular famiglia was apparently paranoid enough to believe that Night Raid would come after them next, if only so they didn't have to make a trip back later. Considering what they found while trying to sneak into the place, it was a reasonable assumption provided Night Raid was actually aware of what they were doing.

Which was how the group had found themselves caught in a trap meant for the mysterious Night Raid. Needless to say there was quite a bit of surprise on both sides of that particular equation. Renato was still kicking himself for being caught in the first place.

Lal was chained up and considering her gender wasn't likely going to enjoy it when her turn for 'special attention' came up. Viper had a nasty concussion as did Verde, who had been more or less stripped to his boxers to insure he didn't have any little gadgets to get them out of this. He had no idea where Fon was at the moment, but he had been protecting Luce since Night Raid had been in the area and they wanted to be safe.

And that left Renato, who like Verde had been stripped to his boxers and chained to the wall in a way that it would take a lot of effort to get out of it. The chains were tight enough to keep him from going anywhere, but loose enough that he could move around a little.

As for Skull, well that pathetic Cloud must have scarpered the second things went south. Renato honestly didn't care because the only thing that idiot could do would be to act as another hostage to break. It wasn't like the fool was remotely capable of killing anyone.

So when the don of the famiglia they were trying to rob walked in with the idiotic braggart of a Cloud they were forced to play nice with, Renato wanted to bite the fool's head off. He didn't care which fool either... Skull was stupid for allowing himself to be caught!

He would only belatedly realize that he was so angry at Skull for becoming yet another hostage that he missed the expression of calm serenity in Skull's eyes. He could play the terrified act all he wanted...in reality he was as cool as a cucumber inside.

Renato wants to curse and shoot the oblivious Cloud as he fusses over Viper. Wants to knock some damn sense into the idiot before he ends up with them.

"You hurt Viper."

It wasn't a question. Skull is well and truly pissed about the concussion Viper has, yet hasn't shown an iota of giving a damn about what the other three were being put through.

The don sneered at Skull.

"I'm going to do much worse to your little Rain friend over there," he replied.

Skull had an expression on his face that Renato was having trouble identifying.

It took him far too long to register that there was no empathy or humanity in it, which bothered him far too much to explain why.

"You hurt Viper. You openly admit you plan to rape and torture the tsundere simply because she's a woman. For that alone you're a dead man, the question is how graphic and painful do you want it to be in the end?" asked Skull in a tone that makes Renato want to shiver in instinctive fear.

That was the same sort of tone _he_ used when he was well and truly pissed, and more than ready to make someone suffer before he showed them the only iota of mercy he was willing to give them by finally ending their miserable existence.

The don sneered and laughed openly at Skull. Everyone "knew" the loudmouth that trailed after Renato and the others was a civilian. After all, if they treated him like a nobody then why would anyone need to take him seriously in the first place? Never mind the fact that most people disputed he was a Cloud to begin with because he never fought back.

Right now though? Renato would openly admit Skull scared the living shit out of him and he hadn't even _done_ anything yet.

So it didn't surprise him in the _least_ when said Cloud took out a gun which looked far too much like one of Renato's to be a coincidence (Skull later admitted to 'borrowing' it before they even came into the mansion, but he had earned enough respect from the shell-shocked hit man that Renato didn't beat the crap out of him for it) and calmly shot the bodyguards next to the don in the head. Without any hesitation or remorse.

The don looked at his guards in shock and disbelief...he wasn't the only one.

Skull's grin looked like death itself had taken on human form.

"Why don't we have a little chat?" he purred, which sounded far too sensual for the topic in question.

Either way watching Skull positively dismantle the fat bastard before making him suffer a quick, if very painful death by propagating the oxygen in his bloodstream until he quite _literally_ exploded into meaty chunks all over the walls outside the cell was an eye-opener.

Renato hoped Skull didn't notice the fact he had a boner from watching the entire thing. He had no idea that the annoying bastard had that sort of ruthlessness in him. Best of all he got to watch the entire scene from the open door without getting any blood on him!

"Am I hallucinating from the head trauma or did Skull literally just blow someone up by propagating the oxygen levels in that man's body?" asked Viper faintly.

Renato's grin was not reassuring.

Skull easily handed Renato his clothes...their weapons were a lost cause as he hadn't bothered to look for them, but being dressed was a nice change of pace...and gave Verde a shirt and some pants that more or less fit him. He also fussed over Viper and did something that had the Mist straighten a bit and look far less pale than they had before.

"Renato, you should carry Viper out of here. That way you can heal them while you walk."

"What about us?" asked Lal. She had been in an awkward position with those chains and was somewhat happy she wasn't stuck carrying Viper. However light the Mist was she didn't think she could pull it off. And Verde was out of the question.

"Stay out of my way. After what I found and what that fucker planned to do to Viper and you, I'm out of fucks to give about the place."

"I might be inclined to believe you _could_ level the place if you were inverted," said Renato flatly.

The look Skull shot him for that comment could have killed someone. It was that acidic.

"I'm not inverted, you self-absorbed asshole. The only reason people think that is because not a single one of you bastards outside of Viper bothered to get to know me at all. And that was only out of boredom," said Skull coldly. "And forget Luce...she could care less about us. It's clear in the way she behaves that we're just a means to an end for her, though I have yet to figure out what bullshit 'greater good' excuse she's trying to play."

Renato sensed there was a deeper story behind that, but considering the situation it really wasn't a good time to ask. Either way they were all going to be re-evaluating how "useless" Skull actually was after this.

Watching him tear through the defenses of the opposition was more than eye opening. Renato had no idea what he was looking at because it definitely wasn't a Cloud's Rage.

Viper, who had mostly put up with the fact Renato was carrying them on his back while discreetly trying to heal him with his flames...he wasn't very good at healing but a half-assed job was better than nothing at this point...watched the entire scene. There was a sense of deep pity and no little empathy.

"You know something."

"It will cost you," said Viper, likely out of reflex.

"I don't care," said Renato.

"Imagine a Cloud who was beaten into submission so often it became normal for them. Who was never allowed to properly establish a territory without it being taken from them or being used against them to restrict any freedom they might have had. Who essentially became used to the idea of being caged save for the times they were set loose to unleash their pent up rage against a target with the same focus you would give a hit," said Viper bluntly.

Renato observed Skull with new eyes as a dawning horror filled his expression.

"Dear god... someone managed to successfully turn a _Cloud_ into a fucking _weapon_?" he said with absolute horror in his tone.

Because that? That was a recipe for complete and utter _disaster_ just waiting to blow up and take everyone and everything in their immediate surroundings with them. Hell, a cloud with _that_ much pent up rage might very well be able to topple entire countries!

"We are fortunate in that Skull has a surprisingly deep well of patience that would surpass even Fon. And that he hasn't taken offense to your abuse to the point he's turned his anger out on you," said Viper.

Lal observed Skull, with an unreadable look on her face.

"So basically he's an abuse victim with untreated PTSD. Fuck... how did I miss that?" she said in disgust.

A soldier would know the signs of battlefield trauma better than anyone... and now that she was looking for it all the little signs she had learned to dismiss were suddenly pointing to a glaringly obvious conclusion. And she had been too caught up in her own troubles to notice someone was suffering silently in front of her.

When they left the mansion, it was more or less a smouldering wreck.

However it was what Skull left behind that had Renato almost drop Viper out of disbelief.

"You have _got_ to be fucking kidding me!"

Because he just watched the Cloud he had always taken for useless and a complete idiot paint a very _familiar_ symbol on the biggest wall he could find...all purely from habit by the way he was acting!

He wasn't the only one staring, so were Lal, Viper and Verde.

"...Skull is part of Night Raid?" said Viper in disbelief.

Skull realized his mistake a bit too late, but the cat was already out of the bag so he shrugged.

"I'm not _part_ of Night Raid. I _am_ Night Raid," he said flatly.

"Why on earth do you pay Viper for the rumors about the group if you're Night Raid?" asked Verde confused.

Skull looked at him like he was an idiot.

"For shits and giggles, obviously. I find it hilarious to hear what the mafia keeps saying about me while assuming it's a group of people when it's just something I do to vent out of boredom. That and most of these guys are assholes anyway who deserve the reminder they're not at the top of the fucking food chain," said Skull, rolling his eyes.

Renato had a headache. All he wanted to do was sleep for days and pray to whatever god would listen that the world would make sense when he woke up.

However that comment about performing small scale massacres to 'vent out his boredom' sounded off. It took Renato a bit to figure out why...and explain why the Vindice had yet to arrest the idiot yet.

Clearly they had picked up he was an abused Cloud who was slowly venting out years of pent up instincts while taking out famiglia that no one would really miss. The fact he only targeted the ones that were disliked to begin with (the hard drug traffickers, human traffickers and generally assholes everyone hated but ignored anyway so long as they kept to the pecking order) and never _once_ tried to break Omerta was likely the main reason the Vindice ignored it.

Obviously the idiots had done something to set the Cloud off, so it was on them. And since he limited himself to one target at a time and didn't involve outsiders, it was well within the acceptable 'limits' the Vindice placed on Clouds.

They _were_ violent and territorial little shits after all.


	111. Sky Forge Chapter One

**This is a Katana/KHR cross. It's a rather obscure manga, but I would really recommend it!**

* * *

When he was very little, his mama took him to see his grandpa and uncle. They were more than happy to see him, though they didn't like his papa very much.

To be honest, Tsuna didn't like his papa that much either. The man seemed to enjoy tossing him in the air and it always felt like he only caught him as an afterthought.

At first the big house was scary. His uncle was so serious, but his grandfather was nice. And then he ran into him.

Akira, his older cousin. He was playing by himself in a room full of weird people in odd costumes.

"What are you doing?"

Akira jumped, before he registered where the voice was coming from.

"Playing. Are you my cousin Grandpa said was coming?"

"I'm Tsuna!" he said cheerfully.

"Akira," said the other boy, before nervously looking around. "You didn't see anything weird did you?"

Tsuna tilted his head.

"Who are all the people next to you?"

Akira stared.

"You can see them too?"

"They look really funny," said Tsuna.

Akira perked up.

"They do dress funny don't they? But they're all really nice!" said Akira, rather cheerfully. "Want to play with us?"

Tsuna was next to him in an instant.

An hour later Nana came in and saw the two happily playing together and smiled. She knew introducing her son to Akira was a good idea. The poor boy had no friends because the parents were all too paranoid about the swords they kept. She had to deal with her own harassment because her husband was always away on business.

"Did you have fun with Akira-kun?"

"Mama... can I come to play again?" asked Tsuna hopefully.

"I don't see why not. Your grandfather seemed to be really happy having you there," said Nana.

He seemed thrilled, in fact.

"Just be sure to let me know when you go over to play."

The house was a bus ride across town, and her father seemed interested in Tsuna joining the family trade, since Akira wasn't that enthusiastic about it.

Tsuna nodded. He liked playing with Akira.

* * *

Tsuna became a regular at the house, much to the delight of Akira. Mostly because none of the other kids wanted to play with him or come to his house. They were too scared of the swords for some weird reason.

Which he never understood, because they were rather nice to him and Tsuna.

When he was five, Tsuna was allowed into the forge where his grandfather and uncle worked. He wasn't allowed near the fire, or the tools, but he was allowed to watch. Seeing them turn a hunk of metal into a blade was like watching art being created. It was magical.

And when he said as much to his grandfather, the old man smiled.

"Would you like to learn?"

"I'm allowed to learn how to make magic?" said Tsuna with wide-eyed wonder.

Seeing the smile widen, Tsuna eagerly watched the two finish the sword.

The next morning, his grandfather started to show him the various tools they used and had him hold each one so he could get familiar with them.

Nana smiled when she heard he was going to join her father in making blades. She was sure her son would have just as much talent as her brother did. It ran in the family after all.

"That reminds me! I got a letter from your papa and he's coming home next week! Isn't that exciting?" said Nana.

Tsuna made a face.

"Can I stay with grandpa when he comes?"

Nana thought about it for a moment. On one hand, it would mean her son wouldn't be able to see his father for however long he was staying. But... if Tsuna stayed with her father and brother, then it meant she would have her husband all to herself and that meant a bit more time together so they could possibly work on having a second child. It had somewhat frustrated her that because Iemitsu was always abroad for work that she only had Tsuna to keep her company and she loved children.

Considering Tsuna was just now getting started on the family trade, it wouldn't hurt to let him stay the week.

"I'll talk with father about letting you spend the week while he's here. Just be sure to behave if he agrees to it," said Nana.

"I will Mama!" said Tsuna happily.

A day before Iemitsu was due to arrive, Tsuna had packed for at least eight days away from home. His grandfather made sure to pick him up so he didn't get lost. He was still getting used to the bus routes, after all.

Iemitsu came home (with two extras, to Nana's disappointment) and looked rather surprised to find out his son wasn't there.

"Honey, where's Tsuna?"

"Oh he's with my father. He was more than happy to let Tsuna stay over for a bit so he could learn the family trade," said Nana.

"Family trade?" repeated Iemitsu.

Nana blinked, before giving him an odd look.

"I thought you knew. You were certainly secretive about what you do in Italy."

Iemitsu stared at her, as did his 'guests'.

"How do you know I work in Italy?"

Nana's look was flat.

"You've left papers on the table before, and I looked up the words. It took me a while to narrow down that they were Italian," she said flatly. "I don't see why you have to keep making up such silly excuses about where you work."

Iemitsu winced.

"Any idea when he'll be home?" asked Iemitsu, changing the subject.

"Oh Tsuna-kun is spending the week with my father and brother. He's really taken with his cousin Akira-kun, and they had such fun playing together," said Nana smiling.

The older gentleman (who Iemitsu introduced as Timoteo, his boss) and the younger one (Bouche) both chuckled. It was pretty obvious why Nana had sent Tsuna off to stay with her father and brother for the week, and it had very little to do with him spending time with his cousin.

Timoteo clapped a hand on Iemitsu's shoulder.

"It sounds to me that you should spend this week with your wife," chuckled Timoteo. "Though I would like to meet little Tsuna before we leave."

"Oh I'm sure my father wouldn't mind sharing embarrassing stories with you later," said Nana smiling. Timoteo laughed in agreement.

* * *

 _Some time later_

"That's it, Tsu-kun. You have to put your back into it," said his grandfather Kozen encouragingly.

Tsuna took the hammer and made a perfect arc, striking the metal squarely. The first few times he did it, the hammer nearly slipped out of his hands from the surprise of hearing the loud sound. Now he barely registered it save for when he hit the metal wrong or he heard something that sounded off.

Of course they did have to correct his grip the first few times.

Nearby Akira was sharpening swords under the direction of his father. Unlike Tsuna, he wasn't very good at the 'forging' aspect since he didn't really like how much work it took just to get the metal at the right temperature or how hard it was to hammer it into shape. While most modern swordmakers used power tools to save time, the Narikawa family stuck to the tried and true methods of crafting.

Tsuna wasn't very good at sharpening and 'clearing' the blades, but Akira had a real knack for it. On the other hand, he was quickly getting the hang of using the forge, even if he wasn't quite ready to make his own blades or use it without supervision just yet.

Tsuna cleared his mind and focused entirely on flattening the metal piece before him. It was surprisingly easy, and felt natural.

"I think that's enough for today. Good work, Tsuna," said his uncle.

Tsuna blinked and realized he had flattened the metal to an almost even degree throughout. He hadn't even realized it.

His grandfather patted his head.

"Well done, little Tsuna. You have the makings of a fine swordmaker," he said proudly. Tsuna blushed at the compliment.

None of the teachers ever said something like that to him, and the other children liked to make fun of him because his father was never around. Their mothers all liked to disparage his because that man never came home and used such ridiculous stories.

"In fact I think you are _almost_ ready to help us in the forge," said Kozen. Tsuna perked up.

"Really?"

"It won't be much... you'll mostly be helping us to keep the fire at the right temperature and hammering the initial form into shape."

"What about Akira-nii?"

"I'll stick to sharpening," said Akira grinning. He could relax a bit easier if he knew Tsuna would take over the family business of forging swords. He liked sharpening and cleaning the murkiness more than he did making them.

He liked making the swords shine again, to bring out their true nature after so many years. He wasn't very good at _making_ them come alive.

That being said, there was no denying the gleam that came into Tsuna's eyes the day he started reading a manga about a reincarnated boy who used hidden weapons that he had to forge himself. It reminded him so much of his family heritage that he couldn't help but want to learn how to do the same.

He was not oblivious to the fact his father wasn't as 'nice' as he liked to pretend. Besides, if he ever wanted to survive living in a town that had someone like Hibari Kyouya in it, then he had better have a few surprises up his sleeve!

It probably said far too much about Hibari's habits that his grandfather was all too willing to show Tsuna how to forge smaller weapons first...besides, it gave him and Akira practice for later when they were older and able to handle the swords that came in.

* * *

Tsuna was out eating sushi with his cousin and grandfather when he noticed it. A sword spirit that was relatively well maintained, but looked very tired. There was an odd sense of unhappy resignation, as if there was something bad happening to the people who owned it that it couldn't resolve.

Akira shared a look with Tsuna.

"Hey mister, is it true your family come from a long line of samurai?" asked Tsuna brightly, vaguely recalling the slightly older boy in his class mentioning it.

The sushi chef blinked before an amused smile came onto his face.

"And how would you know that, little one?"

"Takeshi-kun mentioned it in class once I think," said Tsuna, scrunching his nose as if he was recalling what Takeshi said. "He said that their family practiced a really old sword style and even had a real katana in their house."

Seeing he had his grandfather's full attention, the chef chuckled.

"We do, Shigure Kintoki has been in our family for generations."

That made his grandfather sit up a bit in excitement.

"Not the same Shigure Kintoki that was used by the famous Asari Ugetsu! The one that goes well with the Shigure Souen Ryuu sword style!"

"You know of it?" said the chef, openly shocked that their grandfather was able to recognize his sword style from the name of the sword alone.

Seeing the wide grin on the face of their grandfather, they listened avidly to the conversation Tsuna deliberately started.

"Our ancestor Kouin forged the Shigure Kintoki and gifted it to the family in thanks for saving his life from an unscrupulous lord. It was later fixed when it was damaged in Italy when Asari Ugetsu used it to help fight for his Lord against a large group of nobles that had been oppressing the peasants at the time. I believe one of our ancestors even married into the line at one point, though I'm not sure when."

Seeing the chef perked up, a wide grin appeared on his face. This was exactly what he needed to take his mind off his wife's illness for a while.

"If you like, I can bring it into one of the private rooms. We've been maintaining it for a while, but having a professional look it over wouldn't be a bad thing," he said.

It didn't take much convincing for Tsuyoshi (the chef) to bring out Shigure Kintoki.

Akira and Tsuna looked it over with fascinated eyes.

"Wow...this sword is in much better shape than the ones we normally get to see!" said Tsuna happily.

"It could use a proper sharpening though... the blade looks a little muddied though it's in excellent condition," said Akira after examining it.

Tsuyoshi looked abashed at that.

"It's been a while since I've needed to pull it out, so the fact it might need a bit of maintenance doesn't surprise me much."

Akira and Tsuna watched as their grandfather bartered the price of a free meal when they returned the sword in exchange for loaning them Shigure Kintoki.

It was with some surprise that Akira was given the responsibility of sharpening it... it was his first big work!

 _Some time later..._

Akira worked carefully, but steadily. He had gotten really good at sharpening thanks to all the practice Tsuna gave him with his smaller daggers, knives and other hidden weapons. While they were just plain practice blades he could tell Tsuna was quickly working up to forging weapons that had an actual soul to them.

Bit by bit, Shigure Kintoki began to brighten and their behavior became much happier.

" _It truly is dreadful... the mistress has fallen ill and I was unable to protect her from the worst of it!"_ cried the sword. _"Worse, I fear for young master Takeshi."_

Tsuna tilted his head.

"Is it because he smiles when he's not really happy?" asked Tsuna.

The sword looked at him. It nodded sadly.

Tsuna resolved to make Takeshi show his real feelings, since his mama was in the hospital feeling bad. His grandpa let him carry Shigure Kintoki all the way back to the restaurant, freshly sharpened and checked over.

There was a sense of impending sadness and Tsuna really didn't like it at all. Clearly Takeshi's mama was taking a turn for the worse.

Seeing that fake smile on his face, Tsuna didn't even think twice about it.

"Stop that. I know my Mama would rather I smile when I actually felt happy than to see a fake smile when she knows I'm really sad!" said Tsuna sternly.

Takeshi had a rather bewildered look on his face, but the fake smile dropped to something a bit more neutral.

"I don't want to lose her," he admitted, trying not to cry. Tsuna hugged him as the adults talked shop a bit.

"We cleaned up your family sword, want to see it?" asked Tsuna, trying to take Takeshi's mind off his mom's illness.

He couldn't explain what happened next...just that there was a strange surge of warmth and protectiveness as Takeshi carefully pulled Shigure Kintoki out of the sheath to look at it properly. Tsuna could see the sword wake up all at once, before cleaving something he couldn't really see in the air. Takeshi quickly put the sword back, having felt _something_ happen with a bewildered look on his face.

Rather than go back with his grandfather, Tsuna stayed with Takeshi all through the night so he wouldn't be alone when the doctors called back. Tsuyoshi had gone to the hospital, glad his son wouldn't be alone even if they were a bit young.

So it was with some excitement and no little sense of relief that they got the news early in the morning.

"She pulled through!" said Takeshi, putting down the phone in relief. "The doctors can't explain it, but she managed to make it through the worst of the treatment and she might even make a full recovery!"

Tsuna suddenly knew what Shigure Kintoki had 'cut' through when Takeshi took the blade out. It had cut through the misfortune hanging over their family and allowed his mama to make it through whatever made her sick.

On the plus side, he finally had a real friend in school that wasn't scared of his swords. Akira loved it as well, since most of his classmates were all told to avoid his house. It was nice having friends.


	112. Sky Forge Chapter Two

Tsuna's unusual relationship with Hibari Kyouya began the day he was inadvertantly busted for carrying armor that he had personally made. While making little weapons that even someone as small as him could use was fun, with all the bullying he put up with he decided to branch out into armor.

His grandfather was fine with it, and even gave him an allotment of metal to play around with. After all, you couldn't exactly get into trouble for bringing metal _armor_ to school, even if it was something as basic as chainmail.

Which was where the trouble started.

Hibari came like an avenging crow when he heard the fighting, only to discover Tsuna looking more or less undamaged and the bullies cursing out the fact he had something under his shirt.

Closer inspection revealed an odd pattern to their bruises.

Hibari's eyes gleamed, and the bullies scattered. Tsuna picked up his things, and paled when he realized Hibari hadn't chased after the others.

"Small animal, what do you have under your shirt?"

Tsuna stared, before he reluctantly pulled up his shirt just enough to expose an unfinished set of chainmail underneath. It was still a little short of being complete, but enough that it covered the main areas.

He had learned from experience that children were less inclined to beat someone up if they got hurt in the process. And metal was _hard_ for untrained children to hit directly with their fists.

"Weapons are not allowed on school grounds," said Hibari.

"Chainmail isn't a weapon unless you take it off and throw it at someone, Hibari-sempai," deadpanned Tsuna. "Besides, once word gets around I'm wearing period-accurate armor from Europe, the idiots who like to harass me will be less inclined to beat me up."

Hibari looked speculative at that.

"Where did you get the armor?"

"I made it. Grandpa doesn't mind if I mess around with the forge to make things, so long as I pay proper respect to my craft and don't horse around."

"Is armor the only thing you can make?" he asked with interest.

"I've been making small blades and hidden weapons, but the inner workings are really finicky and take time to make. Chainmail is easier."

Hibari looked at his tonfas, then at Tsuna.

"If you can get me a blueprint for what you want, I can make you a new set of tonfas," said Tsuna, already guessing what he wanted. "However I'm still trying to work my way up to a full sword."

Seeing the gleam in his eyes, Tsuna knew that if he succeeded then he would never be truly rid of Hibari. However his pride as an apprentice sword maker was at stake, so he would never do a sub-par job at it.

A month later, Tsuna walked up to Hibari who was waiting to catch the latecomers with a reminder of following the rules. In his arms was a thin box.

He handed it to Hibari without a word, and headed off to class. The next morning he saw Hibari weilding his new extendable tonfas with a vicious gleam in his eyes and a pleased expression on his face.

Tsuna felt a measure of pride at the fact one of his creations was actually being used the way they were intended.

"Ahahahaha... you made Hibari-sempai some new toys, didn't you?" said Takeshi.

Ever since that day Shigure Kintoki cleansed the misfortune that was causing Takeshi's mom to become sick, Takeshi had been by Tsuna's side. He wasn't as oblivious as he made himself out to be... it hadn't taken much to figure out Tsuna was the reason his mom got better.

Tsuna was just glad to have _one_ friend, even if he had to keep Takeshi from overdoing things because the team kept putting all the burden of winning on him instead of actually practicing their own skills.

Takeshi's mom was not happy about that when Tsuna pointed it out to her.

After making the tonfas, Tsuna found himself with a discreet 'friend' of sorts. Hibari didn't like crowding with 'herbivores', but he seemed to make an exception for Tsuna.

Probably because he wasn't stupid enough to offend the small animal capable of making him new toys to bite people with.

"So what are you going to make for that collector's convention next month?" asked Takeshi.

"I'm going to try and make a ninjato. If Grandpa says it's good I'll try to sell it for some more cash to make new weapons with," said Tsuna. "Akira's already agreed to make it properly sharp once it's finished."

"...Isn't that the weapon of choice for ninjas?" asked Takeshi amused.

"That was never conclusively proven!" said Tsuna, eyes gleaming.

He hoped to get good enough that he could one day recreate his all time favorite weapons. They were a pair of falchions that his absolute _favorite_ character used as his primary weapon, despite being an archer.

EMIYA was one of his all-time favorite characters because of one simple fact.

He was a sword user that could recreate any blade he saw and use them, even if they were only copies. Even his magic was based off of 'creating' fake blades to use against his enemies, including legendary weapons long since lost to time.

As an apprentice swordsmith, he often drooled over the thought of having Unlimited Blade Works to play around with.

And no, he would not admit to repeating the aria every time he went to make a new weapon.

* * *

Tsuna had the utmost concentration on what he was doing. Akira was by the forge, helping to keep the fire hot and the bellows going. His father was very pleased by the fact his son was willing to learn the basics of working the forge, even if his specialty was cleansing and sharpening the blades of impurity. Together the two made a formidable team.

Slowly but surely, a shape began to emerge under Tsuna's hammer. He had picked a ninjato because while small, it was still a sword. It was no less deadly than a katana or a tachi because of it's size.

Unnoticed by either of the boys, Tsuna's eyes glowed as if caught by the light of the sunset. He felt as though some part of him was entering the blade as it was being made, making it more than just a normal blade.

After long days of hard work, and using up countless hours of his afterschool freedom in the forge, the ninjato was done.

Akira looked ready to pass out, as working the forge was exhausting. Especially for someone not even in his teens yet.

Once the blade was tempered and cooled, Tsuna presented it to his grandfather and uncle for inspection.

"Hmm...a fine piece, especially for your first attempt at swordcraft."

"Acceptable, for someone so young," conceded his uncle.

Tsuna beamed with pride.

"I suppose I can increase your allotment of metal if you're capable of making something like this. The only question is what are you going to name it?" he asked.

Tsuna had thought about a name for a long time, and had discarded quite a few of them. However seeing the blade shine in the moon's light he knew the perfect name for a blade that was primarily used by assassins and shinobi in the past. After all, ninjato were supposedly popular among the shinobi sect because they were small and easy to use compared to longer katana.

"Tsukiyo, because it's short and easy to remember. Besides, if I keep it then I can just call her Tsu-chan the same way Mama does to me all the time!" chirped Tsuna.

His grandfather hummed.

"I would say keep her. After all, she is your first proper sword and a milestone in your attempts to become a proper swordsmith. Though I suppose I could permit you to sell some of the kunai and shuriken you keep making. I'm sure someone will enjoy a historically accurate weapon in their collection, even if it was forged recently," said his grandfather.

Tsuna perked up at that. He kept making kunai and shuriken because they were small and easy to make with scrap metal. If he was allowed to sell some of his better works that would definitely pay for more metal to forge with, as well as better tools. He could even get Akira a better quality sharpening stone, which he knew his cousin would appreciate.

A pity he wasn't up to engraving things just yet. He was sure that Tsukiyo would look even better with a cute crescent moon poking from behind some clouds on the blade. He even had a design for it in his room too. It was one of many he wanted to play around with once he was up to that point.

Tsuna walked away from that convention with several orders for kunai, shuriken and an interest once he was up to making new blades like his grandfather and uncle. He was proud to bear the Narikawa name, as his mother had _zero_ issue with him dropping the Sawada name after his father stopped bothering to visit home altogether shortly after he turned seven.

Tsuna barely remembered the man's name, much less what he even looked like. His mother would look at the obviously photoshopped postcards with disappointed hope and unhappiness that he couldn't be bothered to come up with a lie that people could actually _believe_.

Honestly, did he expect the 'construction worker at the North Pole' would actually work? There wasn't any actual construction projects up there, and he was dressed entirely wrong for the climate. Not to mention the fact that no real construction worker would have a _gold_ pickaxe to work with.

As someone who spent plenty of time around swordsmiths, Tsuna knew perfectly well that gold was terrible for hard use. It's only real purpose was to make things shiny and decorative. Anyone who tried to use a weapon made of it was just wasting their money and time, because the second it went up against a real weapon it would break.

Which was why Tsuna did the smart thing whenever questioned about his father, or lack thereof.

He claimed the man was dead and that his mother was living off the inheritance the man had left. By the time Tsuna turned nine, Nana had given in and started using his story as well. Since they had no idea where Iemitsu was or even if he was even alive, they couldn't exactly send divorce papers.

Unfortunately they couldn't declare Iemitsu legally dead either, as the paperwork fell through for reasons that were never fully explained. They settled for pretending Iemitsu died when Tsuna was really young and never talked about him to anyone.

Tsuna nearly had a heart attack when, seven months after creating his first proper sword, it developed a soul all it's own.

The sprite that nearly gave him a heart attack looked like a tiny moon spirit with silver hair and silver colored eyes. She wore an orange kimono with indigo accents, which had a very delicate looking pattern of a cloud poking out from beyond the clouds made of white thread.

It had taken bringing Akira with him to confirm he wasn't imagining things, but he was still stunned one of his creations had developed a 'soul'.

It was a sign of things to come...not that the boys knew it yet.

* * *

What had started out as a joke request to Hibari after he accidentally learned the slightly older teen spoke fluent Mandarin would end up earning Tsuna some rather...dubious...clients.

Tsuna wanted to be able to watch "Doulou Dalu" in the original language without subtitles, and Hibari liked the weapons and armor Tsuna could create. So by mutual agreement, Hibari agreed to teach the 'small fox' how to speak Chinese in exchange for a discount on some proper weapons for his minions. More specifically he wanted Kusakabe to have a proper knife, rather than the shoddy mass-produced blade he used now. The difference in quality was beyond obvious at a glance, and Hibari wanted his right hand to be armed with something that wouldn't break.

Tsuna had it made within two weeks, though Hibari had him fluent enough in a month...and discovered Tsuna was a semi-decent "playmate" once motivated. The only issue was that he wasn't that great at _using_ his weapons as he was creating them.

Instead he had to make due with some special gauntlets he created to take the brunt of the tonfas, and learn how to fight hand to hand without formal training involved.

So you could imagine his surprise when he ran into a tiny Hibari with a monkey one afternoon. It was after school hours and he had a day free of the forge since his grandfather and uncle had a special order to make, thus had taken it over.

"Um... hello?"

"Hello little one. Are you the same child who made those tonfas for Kyouya?" asked the small Hibari.

Tsuna blinked.

"You mean Hibari-sempai? I was the one who made them, though I wasn't sure if they would turn out as well as they did. Who are you?" asked Tsuna.

"I should have introduced myself first. My name is Fon, and I'm Kyouya's grandfather," said the smaller Hibari...or rather Fon. "This is my companion Lichi."

Tsuna had to giggle a little when the monkey chittered and scampered up his arm to sit on his shoulder.

He wasn't going to question why someone who looked physically two was claiming to be Hibari's grandfather. After all, he had the ability to see the souls of swords.

"Are you here to see Hibari-sempai?"

"Actually I was wondering if you were allowed to take orders for weapons," admitted Fon, slightly sheepish. "It's rather difficult to find a proper weaponsmith who still uses the proper forging technique without machinery involved. That and I heard that a grandson of the Narikawa family was the one responsible for the recent influx of proper kunai and shuriken on the market."

Tsuna brightened hearing that.

"Oh is that all? Grandpa lets me use the forge, but I haven't been able to work up to a full sword just yet. I have been playing around with making hidden weapons and I've recently managed to make a proper ninjato solo," said Tsuna. "If you're looking for something more your size, then I might be allowed to take on that commission. I would have to ask grandfather first."

Fon looked decidedly happy hearing that, especially considering the fact Tsuna was being properly respectful and deferring to a master smith before agreeing to anything. It was so hard finding weapons that were 'sized' to his cursed body without paying ridiculous fees.

Tsuna was greatly entertained watching Fon spar with Hibari and seeing the Demon Prefect lose for once.


	113. Wild Winds Chapter One

A loud piercing scream filled the room...before the very loud squalling of a newborn infant was heard.

The mother looked exhausted and who could blame her? Her arms were almost too tired to hold her newborn son.

"What is his name?" asked the midwife.

" _Little Bird,_ " replied the father. It was a perfectly acceptable name for either gender, and one a child could grow into. However only time would tell what sort of 'bird' his new son would become.

Either way he would happily watch his son grow up with pride and utmost joy. He already loved the child with every fiber of his being.

Feng held his new son tenderly, but with a fiercely protective aura. One that only grew when the child opened it's eyes for the first time, revealing gray, almost blue eyes like his mother. He already had Feng's hair...his mother was a brunette after all.

Feng could accept Mei's betrayal as a mother when she fled his small cottage for 'fear' of the fact that his enemies would use her against him. There had been no love between them, it had been an arranged marriage. But it still pissed him off that she would abandon their son like that without a second thought. Fortunately his child had mostly been weened off his mother's milk and was starting the mashed foods. There was no hardship in buying formula until his little one no longer needed it.

So he had been reincarnated? Normally he'd say that sort of thing sucked, but this was quite likely the best thing to happen to him.

No more crazy fiancees, no shattered honor, no more pressure to marry an abusive woman who had no real idea of what being a martial artist was about, no more dealing with either of those ghouls.

Ranma Saotome, or Little Bird, could honestly say things were looking up.

Especially when he was finally old enough to see his new father. He had long since figured out his mother had ditched him... disappointing, but he could live that fact. So long as his new father wasn't anything like the bastard who raised him in his last life he could handle it.

The man moved like a master martial artist. He was already pleased with the fact he wouldn't have to work from scratch on half-remembered memories... he was sure if he asked his new father nicely the man would train him without losing his honor twice.

" _Little Bird, are you in pain?"_ said the man softly, as he gently picked his son up.

Ranma nuzzled into his father's chest, feeling safe and relaxed for the first time in _years_. However that didn't change the fact his mouth was murdering him as he whimpered. The man chuckled, and gently rubbed some weird gel that soothed the ache.

Seeing something swinging nearby, he tried to grab it...and managed to snag it on the fifth try...it was a braid.

" _Now, now little one. If you're hungry I can get you some food. That's not something you should eat,"_ he chuckled.

It was a good thing Ranma was passably fluent in Chinese from his last life. He could understand _most_ of what the man was saying or at least make a reasonable guess at it.

Ranma's stomach was making noise, but he could handle it. However his father noticed his squirming and chuckled. He juggled his young son in one hand with ease, while he prepared a some food. Ranma leaned against the man, partly to bask in the safety the older martial artist presented, but mostly so he could observe the 'aura' the man had.

This man was someone who had spilled blood before and would likely do the same again. However he had the 'feel' of an honorable martial artist who had likely gotten roped into the Triads through no fault of his own. The sort of opponent Ranma would have loved to fight against because there was no hard feelings or ridiculous challenges should one of them win. He would at least state his intentions openly rather than stab his opponent in the back.

Yeah, his previous father had been a coward and a thief, but the simple fact of the matter was that Ranma would rather be related to a Triad assassin than that bastard. Genma had completely ruined his son's honor as a martial artist and caused him no end of issues... being reincarnated was likely the only way he _could_ have salvaged his honor and self-dignity as a martial artist.

Ranma put away most of the mashed food, before his father rubbed him on the back. He let out a particularly loud yawn, which included a bit of dribble on the man's shoulder.

Feeling sleepy, he grabbed onto the robe the older man was wearing and didn't let go. His father seemed mostly amused by this, because Ranma woke up the next morning lying next to his new father.

Indignity of being an infant or not, he could easily get used to this.

* * *

Feng was practicing his katas, mostly to limber up for the day. His adorable little son was sitting up...mostly... watching him practice. He had to grin a bit when he saw how he had managed to capture the child's attention...somehow he had the feeling his little bird would be asking for martial arts lessons in a few short years, just to be like his father.

Finishing up for the morning, Feng walked over to his son and cooed at him. His little bird was far too cute for his own good, even if he gave the most adorable baby glares whenever he put the child into a new onesie.

Feng very nearly dropped the jar he was carrying to the table for his son's breakfast when the infant looked right at him...and said his first word.

" _Papa."_

Hearing his little one stutter for a bit, Feng almost swore he had imagined it. Then his little bird smirked almost cockily and repeated it with a far steadier voice.

" _Papa!"_

Feng did drop the jar and happily cuddled with his son. He was so happy and pleased! His little bird snuggled into his shoulder repeating the word twice more, before he suddenly reminded Feng that he hadn't had any breakfast yet.

He was so pleased by the way the day had started that he decided to bring out some of the new toys he had gotten his son.

Though he was honestly surprised by the way his little bird shied away from any of the 'cat-themed' toys. As a slight test, Feng discreetly placed one near his son...only for the child to crawl as fast as possible _away_ from it. If he didn't know any better he would swear his little one was scared of cats.

A few more attempts, each with the same result, confirmed his suspicions. And made him wonder what exactly caused his little bird to develop Ailurophobia, or the fear of cats. It wasn't just domestic cats either! His little one refused to go near anything feline related.

Feng could take a hint easily enough, and removed all the feline-themed toys from his son's presence...and discreetly did away with any cat-onesies. He was so sure his son would have looked positively adorable in that tiger outfit too. Oh well.

Seeing the relief in his son's eyes was enough to convince him. He spent the entire day playing with his little bird, helping to chase away any lingering fear the boy might have had. He had to hide his amusement when he realized that his little bird was already showing signs he would be every bit as fast, if not faster, than his father. Just seeing how quickly the boy was crawling, or at least attempting to, made him want to laugh with delight. Feng had a rather amusing time playing "keep away" with his braid. His little bird definitely wanted to grab it.

Later that night he cuddled with his son with a smile on his face.

* * *

 _A few months later..._

Ranma was observing his Chichiue, or Feng. He could already tell he liked his father far better than he ever had that fat panda. Feng had picked up on the fact he absolutely _hated_ those furry-devils and had been quick to get rid of anything that was related to them in the house. He was sure that Feng had a few onesies that he had been planning to put him in, so he was beyond relieved his father had gotten rid of them instead.

He could live with being dressed up in ridiculous outfits like polar bears, dragons, koalas and other silly animal costumes so long as he never had to endure looking like those _things_.

Besides he had gotten a good look at the tattoo on Feng's shoulder and it was _awesome_. He wondered if his Chichiue would let him get a tattoo like that when he was older.

Feng had been so ridiculously pleased when he called him 'father' in Chinese. Sure, his pronounciation had been a bit off on his first few tries, but at least he remembered how to say it without mangling it completely!

Ranma's attention was fully focused on the door, which had Feng looking that way too.

He had a really bad feeling about the person who was hiding in the shadows.

A feeling that only got worse when Feng clearly intended to leave his son with a minder for a bit so he could go on a job.

Ranma couldn't really speak Japanese without raising a _hell_ of a lot of questions as to how he knew the language...but he could raise a _massive_ tantrum.

Every time Feng attempted to leave the house, Ranma would throw a massive fit. Even though doing so exhausted him. Feng's eyes creased in an unhappy manner. It would take him at least an hour and a half to soothe the unhappy child who was edging very close to two years old now. And just when he thought his little bird was finally calm down, the boy would start up again.

Needless to say Feng couldn't leave that day. He was too worried his son would work himself up into a frenzy and become sick. He could already tell the boy was screaming himself hoarse.

" _Little bird, what has gotten into you?"_ said Feng with open concern.

After one last aborted attempt to leave, Feng sighed with exasperation. He couldn't very well leave if his child was sick. The woman had planned to hire to watch his son clicked her tongue at him.

" _You should not spoil him so much,"_ she said in disapproval.

" _He's not normally like this. I've left on jobs before that took a few weeks at most and he never made a peep. This is the first time he's made such a fuss about me leaving,"_ said Feng, rubbing his poor exhausted son's back.

Satisfied Feng wasn't about to leave anytime soon, the child crashed against his father with an exhausted slump.

Worried his son might have made himself sick with the sheer amount of protesting the day before, Feng took him to a trusted doctor to have him checked over.

" _His throat is a bit enflamed and his voice is a little scratchy... but otherwise he's fine. However I would recommend against any talking for a day or two. If he starts screaming you had better check on him fast,"_ said the doctor.

Feng might not be a mind-reader like a certain Sun claimed to be, but he could read the expression in his son's eyes easily enough. His little bird wasn't afraid to start up an even bigger tantrum if Feng even _tried_ to leave.

The martial artist sighed.

He bent down to his son's eye level.

" _Little bird, I have to go to this meeting. It's important."_

" _Papa no! Bad!"_

Considering Feng had a bad feeling about the man _hiring_ him for whatever job he wanted done, he couldn't blame his son for trying to stop him from going. Clearly his little bird had picked up _something_ from his prospective client and didn't want his father in harm's way.

Feng gently ruffled his son's hair.

" _Little bird, I_ need _to go to this meeting. At least to see what the job is about. Once I find out more details I'll come right back,"_ promised Feng.

" _Papa promise?"_ said his son, with a slight crack in his voice. Feng could already feel the glare from the doctor.

" _I promise to come right back after the meeting,"_ said Feng. _"So long as it does not draw any of my enemies to you."_

Feng felt a measuring gaze from his son, and knew if he broke that promise his little bird would never trust him again.

* * *

A few days later, once Feng reassured his son he would return in a day or two, he _finally_ made his way to Italy.

And the second he saw the gathering of people in the room, he knew something was up. There was no job on the planet that needed so many skilled individuals that would also require his skills. He did slightly pity the Cloud, who was obviously a civilian who had gotten drawn in for who knew what reason.

However the second he saw Renato Sinclair, the man who had recently gained the title of "World's Greatest Hit Man", he knew that his skills were overkill at best.

Sinclair was a nuisance and a troll, but he was one of the rare people Feng acknowledged as his equal when it came to skills.

Mind made up, Feng politely declined the offer for the job and was already making plans to return to China. He was not betraying his son's trust, regardless of how lucrative the paycheck would be.

The second he felt the Sky's flames attempt to press upon his own, likely to try and convince him to stay, Feng's eyes turned red.

"Please do not do that again. I would hate to paint the walls with your blood for attempting to force me into a false bond," said Feng with every show of politeness...save for the fact he was clearly pissed.

Luce almost winced, but she held her ground.

"We could really use you," she said.

"If you require a Storm that badly, find someone else. I made a promise with someone that I fully intend to keep, and while the job does appear lucrative I have no intention of breaking it," said Feng flatly.

"A promise?" said Renato curiously.

"I wasn't allowed to leave my house until I agreed to merely come and see what the job was about and return right back," replied Feng. "And if you attempt to keep me here, then you had best be prepared to pay a very hefty price for interfering."

Sky or not, he would rather spend time with his son than a rag-tag group of strong flames. Especially when the only thing that would be accomplished was nothing short of overkill.

He left the meeting with an annoyed feeling and was back in China before morning. It took him twelve hours to return to his son, who looked shocked (likely because Feng had kept his promise to return promptly after the meeting) and happy (that his father was back).

" _I'm home, little bird. I did keep my promise after all,"_ said Feng gently.

" _Papa!"_

Feng felt something in his chest unclench, as he held his son closely to him. His little bird happily hugged his father very tightly and refused to let him out of his sight for the next two days, not that Feng minded.


	114. Plans Within Plans Chapter One

You could say it was love at first sight. They were late to a meeting, Dino _desperately_ needed coffee in him before he crashed, and the only cafe that _wasn't_ packed was the one she worked at.

She smiled at him...and that was all she wrote.

Somehow, Dino found a way to see her again, even _discreetly_ learning what her schedule was so he could chat with her during the slow times.

Her name was Hope, she was seventeen and she had recently moved to Italy from Japan. She was a rather caring young woman who always treated everyone with kindness, especially children. She always showed gentle amusement when his clumsy nature kicked in, and actually _listened_ to what he had to say.

Dino would never forget how much he enjoyed their first date. Or their fifth.

It wouldn't be until the tenth one that he realized he was head over heels in love with her.

Which lead to this particular dilemma...

"How am I supposed to tell her I'm in the mafia?" bemoaned Dino.

Romario looked amused. Then again, Dino knew this was coming when he realized he really loved Hope enough to possibly marry her. She was a civilian, thus he ran the risk of breaking Omerta and getting into trouble with the Vindice.

Dino was still trying to figure out what to tell Hope when he took her out for their date that night.

"Dino, what's wrong?" asked Hope.

"I have something to tell you, but I have absolutely no idea how to go about it."

Hope gently put a finger on his lips.

"Before you say anything, let me state this. I have seen what a relationship built on lies and deceit ends, and I have no desire to fall into the same pit my mother created for herself because she married a fool who didn't have the decency to be honest or put her first. If what you want to say is important, then at least have the courage to tell me the truth outright," she said firmly.

Dino paused, before he mentally steeled himself. If she wanted honest truth, then giving her a small fragment of what she would be getting into if their relationship progressed any further should suffice until they were properly married.

"I'm in the mafia."

"I rather figured that considering I've seen your bodyguards. They are good, but their subtly needs work," she replied dryly.

Dino stared at her.

"You knew?"

"When the guy you're dating can't go anywhere without a guard from a specific group of people without tripping, you tend to pick up on the obvious. And seeing as how evasive you were about what you did for a living, it was an obvious conclusion. Civilians aren't as oblivious as you might think, and most of those with even a hint of underworld connections is aware that this is Cavallone territory," she deadpanned. "Most are content to ignore the hidden truth about who rules the area because they actively protect the people living in it."

Dino honestly had no idea the civilians were more or less aware this was his territory, but turned a blind eye. It made sense though...most mafioso these days were hardly discreet.

He relaxed slightly.

"I didn't want to drag you into anything, because if we started getting serious then you would be considered connected by default. But I can't go into any detail unless we were married, because there are certain rules even I have to follow."

"Understandable. The question is, how far are you willing to take our relationship?" asked Hope calmly.

"You're taking this rather well."

"Mafioso or not, you're still the man I fell in love with. Finding out your job is slightly less than legal isn't going to change that."

Dino blushed, though he felt nothing but relief. She hadn't rejected him, or tried to leave. She took the news he was in the mafia calmly and accepted it as fact. She still loved him.

Any doubts he had about possibly marrying her died that moment.

"And like I said, I can put up with a lot so long as you're honest with me. Unlike _him_ ," said Hope darkly.

"Him?"

Was there an ex-boyfriend who had hurt her before?

"Let's just say there's a reason I tell people my father is dead, despite the fact I still haven't been able to have him declared as such so that my mother can finally move on with her life."

Dino was over the moon...which was why six months later he proposed to his girlfriend. He would tell her everything once they were properly married, because she would be covered by Vindice law.

She already won the hearts of his Family shortly after she moved into the mansion. She seemed to conspire with Romario a lot to make him rest and actually relax after hours of paperwork.

After the first night, Dino told Hope everything. What his position was in the Alliance, Flames, what it meant to be a Sky and what Harmony felt like...everything. Hope listened patiently (still very sore from their first night as husband and wife...Dino truly was built like a horse) and made a point to kiss her husband.

The fact he trusted her enough with the truth was worth more than he knew.

Which was why she felt he deserved to know the truth too.

"I might not have been _entirely_ upfront about why I knew you were in the mafia before you told me," said Hope.

Dino had checked...Hope hadn't been exaggerating when she said the common citizen in his territory was well aware of the mafia, even if they didn't know actual details.

"Is it something that's going to come back and hurt my Family?" asked Dino seriously.

"No, it's just absolutely humiliating and I refuse to acknowledge the other party as related to me if I can absolutely help it," said Hope depressed.

Dino was patient. Hope decided to bite this particular bullet and get it over with.

"I'm related to the Vongola through my father. And not as a minor official either."

Dino blinked.

"How is your father related to the Vongola?"

"Remember that braying jackass that was practically fondling his date during that one party you took me to? The one I asked about because I was disgusted with his behavior?"

"You mean Sawada?"

No one liked Sawada much...he was an arrogant asshole who played at being the head of CEDEF, but anyone with eyes could tell the group had gone into a sharp nosedive under his leadership. It was rather baffling how much the Ninth relied on the man's inept information to run the Vongola.

Hope just looked depressed.

"He's my _father_ ," she spat in disgust. "I can't believe that arrogant bastard is living it up as a 'bachelor' here in Italy while my mother is stuck living under the scrutiny and disdain of the neighbors because he never visits. He never even gave her the decency of telling her the truth, telling her he worked construction in the Arctic or some nonsense. The last time he visited, he told her he was 'off to become a star'. That was eleven years ago."

Dino was stunned. He had a hard time believing his wife was related to that moron, but at the same time he wasn't going to dismiss it. After all, what would Hope have to gain by claiming to be Sawada's daughter when she had been living paycheck to paycheck as a barista in a small cafe rather than ask for help? It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him and refused to acknowledge the relation.

He pulled her into a hug, and the tension in her shoulders slowly bled out.

"Does he know you're here?"

"He literally looked at me during that party and I saw zero recognition in his eyes. He has only spent all of a month, in one week increments, in my actual presence and never all at once. I was essentially a part of a single-parent family and I only moved to Italy to get away from harassment and to track down where that arrogant bastard actually _was_ since he left a letter behind by accident and I found out it was in Italian. And then I met you, while trying to earn enough funds to hire an information broker."

Dino hugged her tighter.

"You are honestly the best thing about Italy," she admitted, snuggling into his side.

* * *

Romario was many things, but blind was not one of them. So when he noticed a slight glow to Miss Hope, he knew immediately she was pregnant. It was to be expected really...the young couple had been going at it like bunnies since the honeymoon.

Hope had a very sensible head on her shoulders, and unlike other mafia wives was not content to merely act as eye candy for her husband. She became a driving force behind her husband, supporting him and insuring he didn't overwork himself trying to improve the Family long-term.

Which was why Romario decided to have a quiet talk with her while Dino was away doing a minor inspection. It wasn't really a necessity...but it served as a discreet reminder to his people that he was paying attention to what was happening under his watch.

"You seem to be glowing recently. Married life suits you," said Romario.

Hope paused in sipping her tea (she did drink coffee, but tea was her general preference).

"Ah...so you noticed it too. I'm hoping to spring it on Dino at the perfect time to get a proper reaction from him," she admitted.

"Reaction?"

"You know, the sort of reaction he can be teased over for years with, caught on camera so he can't back out of it," she said impishly.

Romario...had a sudden premonition Hope would get along terrifyingly well with Reborn, Dino's old tutor.

"If I may ask...what exactly did you tell the Boss that has him working so hard lately?" asked Romario. He knew it had to have been over the honeymoon, but for the life him he couldn't figure out what had lit a fire under Dino to increase the influence and power of the famiglia.

Hope openly winced.

"I told him the truth. He deserved to know, considering the current climate of the underworld."

That got his full attention.

"Current climate?"

"Right now, the underworld is at the brink of an all out war. The Vongola has been losing heirs left and right, and ostracized another to the point he challenged the Ninth directly and was subsequently hidden away so thoroughly that he hasn't been seen since that night. Everything is at the edge of a knife, and it's only going to take a single push before an all out war starts. A push...like the loss of the Ninth Vongola without a clear heir in line for succession, or the sudden loss of _all_ the heirs that could take his place."

Romario winced himself.

"With how old the Ninth is, and his odd reluctance to pass on the reigns, the odds of a massive fight breaking out are far too high."

"What does this have to do with us? We might be allies with the Vongola, but we're not involved in their internal politics."

"That was true...but that changed when Dino married me."

Romario looked at her hard. He didn't have to wait long.

"My original name was Nozomi Sawada, daughter of that arrogant jackass Iemitsu, the external adviser. What very few know is that Iemitsu is a direct descendant of the Primo through his second marriage when he retired to Japan. He might be out of the line of succession due to his position, but his children on the other hand..."

Romario paled. The implications of Hope's heritage hit him like a brick.

If word got out who she was related to, then there would be an intense pressure from the Alliance for her or her children to take over the Vongola, if only to stablize the political climate, regardless of whether they wanted the position or not.

At the very least, odds were that the Cavallone would become absorbed into the Vongola, or at worst her children made into shadow puppets for the Ninth or Sawada to use in order to rule from the shadows. It would be disasterous.

"I do not want _my_ children to be dragged into that mess, and I have even _less_ desire to lead that pit of vipers when they've allowed this mess to become so bad in the first place through complacency. More to the point, I have no doubts that they would simply try to use us as a puppet for their own agendas, regardless of the chaos it would cause long term."

Romario sipped his cold coffee. The implications of her words hit him hard, and he suddenly understood why Dino had been acting slightly odd of late.

He was trying to insure the Cavallone had a future to look forward to, without being strong armed by the Vongola once they learned of Hope's existence.

"That being said, I'm not entirely without a plan on how to deal with this situation. However I know the Ninth generation would never agree to it due to their personal idiocy regarding that individual."

Romario looked at her hard.

"Our best option at this junction is to get Xanxus to take the throne as Vongola Decimo."

"What?" said Romario baffled.

"Let's face it, out of the available heirs he is the best choice. He's already well versed in Vongola politics, he has a solid support base and he understands how to keep unruly elements under control. Being the boss of the Varia isn't a job for the weak."

"How would Xanxus be the best choice?"

"Because he would be acting as a placeholder," said Hope simply. "I've already talked it over with Dino about this extensively. Xanxus might be brash, but he was also able to lead the Varia for two years before something set off the powder keg between him and his father. By the time any of our children would be old enough to take the rings, Xanxus and his Elements would likely be more than happy to retire. After all, he would mostly be used to keep the Vongola from collapsing due to internal strife until someone of the 'proper bloodline' was old enough to take over. It's a win-win situation for everyone except the Ninth generation."

Romario thought that over. Hope and Dino were young, and only one of their children could become the next boss. Agreeing to supply a 'proper heir' to one of the 'spares' in exchange for allowing Xanxus to take over was a rather brilliant, if simple compromise that the Alliance could live with.

Xanxus got the throne he had wanted for years, the Cavallone wouldn't be forcibly dragged into the Vongola's internal dispute over who would inherit, and the underworld would avoid a massive civil war from the power structure collapsing.

"That being said, we're going to need more than a sudden boost in influence and money to keep the Vongola from trying to strong arm the family simply because the Ninth is unreasonable when it comes to his youngest son. Never mind what that jackass will attempt once he finds out who I am."

"What did you have in mind?"

Hope's eyes glinted, and Romario had a sudden vision of deja-vu. Namely for a moment there, the image of Daniela Vongola when she was still alive overlapped with Hope's form.

Suddenly the idea of Hope being of Vongola blood didn't seem that far fetched, though rather than the Primo reborn it felt more like he was in the presence of a second Daniela Vongola.

"Do you have the number of Dino's old tutor? I would like to see if he'd be interested in a temporary bodyguarding contract... besides, I want to see if he'd be interested in acting as the godfather of our child when it comes out."

Romario felt a chill go down his spine.

(And they had finally gotten rid of the last of Reborn's traps too...)


	115. Plans Within Plans Chapter Two

It was less coincidence and more prearranged chaos that had Reborn present when she broke the news to Dino.

As expected of the master of chaos, Reborn took inordinate pleasure in taking many incriminating photos of his ex-student's clumsy reaction to his wife's condition.

Dino looked at Hope with some wariness.

"You planned for him to be here when you told me, didn't you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Honestly Dino, it's not like I had his number and somehow called him with a head's up of potential blackmail," said Hope amused.

Which was true. She had Romario do it, and it took less than five minutes to convince him to make a 'surprise visit'.

"Besides, this could be a good thing! Can you think of a better person to consult when it comes to hiring a good bodyguard than someone who's spent quite a few decades getting past them in order to take out their clients?" said Hope far too cheerfully considering the subject matter. "After all, I can't think of a better person to ask than the World's Greatest Hitman."

Reborn preened at that, especially since she never once made a reference to his...condition. None of the Arcobaleno liked being reminded of the curse or the pacifiers. It was like all their accomplishments had been shoved aside in favor of the cursed artifacts.

Dino didn't like the idea of someone after his wife, but he had to admit she made a strong point. If Reborn couldn't find any faults in the bodyguards around his wife, then it was unlikely anyone would be able to get near her. Especially with her current condition.

"How far along are you, by the way?" asked Reborn.

"Two and a half months. Romario figured it out first, amusingly enough. And I really would appreciate it if you were willing to consult on how to improve the guards around the estate," said Hope sincerely.

"Any idea if it's a boy or a girl?" asked Dino.

"It's too soon to tell. But I do have an idea of what to name them depending on what comes out," said Hope.

It was clear Dino loved his wife, even to Reborn's jaded eyes.

"What names are you considering?" asked Reborn, mostly to make small talk.

"Gabriel or Renato if it's a boy...though I'm leaning more towards Gabriel. And Daniela if it's a girl," said Hope, sipping her tea.

Reborn blinked, though it was only years of experience that kept him from reacting to the second male name she picked.

"Why Daniela?"

"Because she was the most influential and powerful woman in mafia history. The Giglio Nero might be a matriarchy, but it's hard to top a woman who ran the Vongola during World War Two _and_ managed to fight off several male heirs for the position," said Hope promptly. "Besides, naming her Luce or Sepira would be inviting bad luck considering how pathetic Luce turned out to be."

"What makes you say that?" asked Dino.

Hope gave him a flat look.

"The Giglio Nero has the power of foresight, correct?" she asked Reborn.

"That's the general gist, yes," said Reborn carefully.

"Then she obviously knew the curse was coming _long_ before she was actually hit with it. Worse, she _willingly_ condemned her own daughter to carrying it upon her death because she was too weak and cowardly to try and find an alternate solution to it," said Hope without hesitation. "No real mother would stand by and allow their children to take on such a burden, much less condemn their potential guardians to such a fate without even giving them the option of chosing."

Reborn said nothing, but she could sense he didn't know what to think of her.

Dino kept quiet as he could tell this affected his old tutor quite a bit, hearing someone condemn the former Sky Arcobaleno's actions. He didn't know the full story of how they were cursed but he had the feeling Hope had hit that particular nail directly on the head.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? I'm sure you have all sorts of _fascinating_ stories about training my Dino," said Hope.

Reborn's mood took a one-eighty as he smirked at Dino. Dino had a foreboding feeling of inescapable doom...but that always tended to occur around Reborn so he ignored it.

"I would be delighted," he purred darkly.

Dino hung his head. There was no way Reborn wasn't going to tell Hope about the many, many chaotic mishaps he had caused while training Dino to become the next boss.

Reborn took _one_ sip of Hope's coffee...and was an instant convert. Hope was openly amused.

 _A few weeks later..._

"Reborn, would you be offended if I asked to cuddle with you?" asked Hope.

"Why?"

"You feel like a small heater whenever you sit next to me and Dino is currently buried under trade negotiations," she admitted.

Reborn sighed, and allowed her to scoop him up. At least she had _asked_ first and never treated him like an actual child. She sighed happily and cuddled with him, her head brushing against the top of his hair.

They were mostly sitting in one of the spare rooms with the TV on... Hope was kind enough to let him pick the channel as she wasn't particularly interested in watching anything at the moment anyway.

It wasn't until Romario came in that Reborn realized Hope had fallen asleep while cuddling him.

He had to blink at that...most people were too unnerved being this close to him, and yet she had apparently felt comfortable enough to drop her defenses long enough for her to fall asleep.

Instead of questioning it, Reborn did the sensible thing since Hope still had her arms around him. He took a nap himself.

* * *

Hope had an abnormally high fever, and nothing Reborn or Dino could do was helping. In fact it seemed to paradoxically make things worse.

Dino feared for both his wife and unborn child...so he bit the bullet and took her straight to a mafia-run hospital that specialized in flames.

Shamal, who came at Reborn's request just in case, stormed into the room with a furious look on his face. He was _beyond_ pissed.

"What is it?" asked Dino with concern.

"It's not anything contagious, I can tell you _that_ ," said Shamal, his usual perverted charm gone. Right now he was in full medical professional mode. "Someone has sealed your wife's flames. From the damage I'd say she was not only Active when it happened, but still a child."

"What," said Reborn, his voice still and pissed.

"What does that have to do with her fever?" asked Dino. Though he was not happy.

"Your wife's flames are naturally trying to adjust to the baby. But the seal isn't allowing them to 'spread out' properly, if you catch my meaning. As a result, her flames are attempting to expand while the seal is keeping them forcibly contained, thus raising her temperature. If we don't get that thing off, it could do permanent harm to both her and the baby... at the very least it would raise the risk of a miscarriage exponentially."

Dino looked furious.

"What do we need to do?"

"Normally I'd suggest finding who put the seal on her in the first place. But considering how sloppily it was applied, any Sky of sufficient strength might be able to remove it."

Dino paused.

"This seal...would having it applied be considered grounds for banishment from a famiglia?" asked Dino seriously, mind working on overdrive.

"That's what it was design for," said Shamal, confused why he would even ask.

"So if a known Don applied it to Hope when she was too young to have actually _warranted_ a seal outside of going active, he would effectively be casting her out of the Family in a way that they can't take back, right?"

"Stupid-Dino, what are you trying to get at?" demanded Reborn.

Shamal, however, answered him.

"If you give me enough time to collect the evidence, you could present it to the Vindice in the event that her original famiglia attempts to reclaim her. Why? Do you know who applied this seal?"

"I have a reasonable suspicion. But does it qualify as them effectively casting her out of their famiglia to the point that they would have a very difficult time explaining their claim to the Alliance?" asked Dino.

"The seal is only ever used to banish someone from a Family and to prevent Omerta from being broken. However it's considered 'polite' to at least alert the Vindice of it's use so that they know the person in question has been dealt with properly since they do keep track of that sort of thing."

Reborn drew Leon on his student.

"Stupid-Dino, who sealed Hope?"

"Timoteo Vongola, likely at the orders of his adviser Sawada," said Dino flatly.

Dead silence.

"Why would the Vongola's external adviser care about a civilian woman?" said Reborn confused.

"Because he's Hope's biological father. And having to train her would mean acknowledging he's actually _married_. She's openly admitted he has barely spent a month in her presence, if that, and that she was basically raised by a single parent," said Dino.

"Do you mind if I ran a DNA test to confirm that? It would make a stronger argument for the Vindice if they attempt to claim she's one of theirs," said Shamal.

He never liked Sawada anyway, so screwing him over was something he could get behind.

Dino nodded.

"So how do I remove the seal?"

"I'll walk you through the basic steps after I have the tests done and the evidence collected," said Shamal.

Reborn looked at Dino with annoyance.

"When were you going to spring the fact she's Vongola on me?"

"Preferably after I asked if you would be willing to be the baby's godfather," said a tired voice. Hope was awake.

Reborn blinked.

"Godfather?"

"You're saying you _don't_ want a free minion slash enabler to train into giving Dino gray hairs from the chaos they'll create in your name?" said Hope smirking. Dino paled at that.

Hope and Reborn had gotten along like a house on fire (almost literally) since the day they met. So the idea of Reborn training his future child into being _just like him_ was enough to give Dino nightmares.

A few hours later, Shamal had the evidence he needed (the DNA test would take a few days).

Dino carefully applied his Sky flames to his wife...it was a good thing she was in an isolated room for those with something that was potentially contagious, because it managed to hide the massive outpouring of Sky and Cloud flames that nearly knocked him flat on his ass.

He wasn't the only one in shock...Reborn had a decidedly _bewildered_ expression on his face.

"You alright?" asked Dino.

"I'm fine...just really tired. I actually feel _warm_ for once," said Hope.

Considering Hope once confided in him that she often felt a chill that she couldn't get rid of, Dino was relieved. Then he noticed the odd look in Reborn's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"...I think I harmonized with your wife," said Reborn, staring at Hope.

Hope merely reached out and pulled Reborn in for a proper cuddle. She really enjoyed the heat he gave off.

* * *

 _A week later..._

Reborn went from "amused conspirator of chaos" to "mother hen" once they were able to confirm he really _had_ harmonized with Hope.

Rather that be annoyed, Hope opted to use it as an excuse to cuddle with her Sun as much as she wanted. Considering it allowed him to keep a constant eye on her condition at all times, Reborn allowed it.

Dino...was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he would never be rid of Reborn.

At least he had the perfect ammunition to use against the Vongola when they remembered Hope existed long enough to track her down. It was rather hard to explain a seal that nearly killed not only her, but the baby she was carrying.

According to Shamal, she would have had the same reaction if she had married a flameless civilian. If it wasn't for the fact Dino had taken her to a mafia hospital when her temperature rose too much, she could have _died_ from the almost certain miscarraige.

The Vongola literally used the worst seal possible on her, and as if it wasn't bad enough, it had been poorly applied too. Most of Hope rather unhappy childhood could be laid to the fact that she was a Sky who was unable to bond with the Elements around her.

Namimori was considered a sort of natural congregation area to those with Flames. Latent, Inactive or the rare Active, it didn't matter...the town tended to draw those with underworld connections to it.

They would have sensed what Hope was, and attempted to bond with her. Except the seal interfered with the process, causing them to lash out without knowing why. According to Shamal, that sort of thing would have lead to people going into Discord in droves...especially those recently Active who were naturally attuned to Hope's Sky.

That would have pissed off the Vindice and she would have been arrested without even knowing what was going on.

(Dino had given Reborn full permission to shoot Iemitsu on sight. Reborn felt it rather telling that Hope told him to go for somewhere permanent and painful if he followed through.)

Hope was going stir crazy. She couldn't really help it as she was confined to bed on Shamal's orders after she nearly blacked out one morning.

She was only allowed to use the bathroom, and even then Dino had some of the female staff hovering around her just in case.

Apparently the seal had left some lingering after effects, which meant Shamal had classified her condition as a 'high risk' pregnancy. If they weren't careful the could lose not only the baby, but her as well.

Shamal had high hopes that after the child was born and her flames had a chance to properly stabilize, that this wouldn't happen again. Either way he was keeping a close eye on his new Sky's condition.

(He was still in shock he had harmonized in the first place. He wasn't complaining though...at least his Sky was a cute woman and not some boring old man.)

Seeing Reborn cleaning another one of his guns, Hope had an idea.

"Reborn can I have one of your guns?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I want to take it apart and see how long it would take for me to put it together again," said Hope.

Reborn blinked.

"You want to learn proper gun maintenance?"

"Guns are like puzzles, in a way. And it would give me something to do while I'm stuck in here. You can even time how long it takes me to put it back together again," said Hope.

Reborn debated the pros and cons of her request.

Then decided to give her one of his more 'simple' guns...unloaded of course...to play around with. It wasn't like he couldn't replace it if something went wrong and at least it gave her something _productive_ to do with her time since she was stuck in bed. Besides, it gave them something to bond over.

Dino took one look at what his wife was doing with Reborn's helpful comments...and promptly went to buy some actual puzzles for her to solve. She seemed to have a preference for the more intricate Chinese ones.


	116. Drifting Hearts Chapter One

It seemed to be a reoccuring theme in his life. That he would find the _one_ person who would take him in, pretend to treat him like he was one of them, only to leave him in the 'tender mercies' of the biggest asshole on the planet who thought the fact he hadn't been born or raised in their society was enough reason to 'toughen him up' in the most horrible way possible.

It had happened with the normal people. It happened with the magicals.

He would be _damned_ if he fell for the same crap now that he was old enough to actually _do_ something about it and leave just because the mafia thought they had automatic dibs on anyone with these...flames.

Skull seethed when he finally figured out why he kept having flashbacks to some of Vernon's worst abuse growing up after yet another training session with Renato, who seemed to take the fact Skull was a 'civilian' as all the excuse he would ever need to beat the living shit out of him.

Soon after, when the cloying feel of Luce's "flames" that felt more like a collar that threatened to choke him with the false hope of a 'home' started to feel entirely too familiar to the false platitudes Dumbledore kept giving him for _years_ before the senile fucker finally died at the hands of his so-called redeemed Death Eater, Skull realized something.

He could stay, and likely be used in whatever scheme the 'Sky' bitch had planned and get screwed over _yet again_...or he could do the smart thing and leave.

Considering the sheer lack of respect or even common decency from anyone save Viper, who made it abundantly clear they hated every one of them equally and only gave two shits about the others because they were being _paid_ an outrageous sum of money, Skull's choice was all too obvious.

There wasn't enough money in the world for him to tolerate a continuation of the same abuse and beatings. Besides, none of these idiots knew his actual name and there was literally _nothing_ they had to hold over him.

Most of his family was dead, he was independently wealthy with his funds being in vaults that had no access to the internet, and it would take all of five seconds to be halfway across the country with enough of a head start to change his features to the point he would be unrecognizable.

And if that didn't work, he could always cast a personalized fidelius and hide until whatever plot Luce was trying to pull over him ran out of time. From what he had been able to ascertain, her 'greater good bullshit' was on a very specific deadline.

He was perfectly capable of hiding in an inhospitable location for a considerable amount of time in isolation. He could wait her out and he had ways to deter the asshole who hired him from locating him twice.

After sterilizing his little 'nest' (which was nowhere near the room they had given him because he wasn't stupid enough to sleep in an area Renato could get easy access to) and cleaning the place so thoroughly that it would be a miracle if they found anything of his, Skull grabbed his broom that he had charmed to look like a normal motorcycle.

"Where are you going?" demanded Renato.

"To town for supplies. One of my orders came in and I'm going to pick it up," said Skull.

Which was true, but the order was in another part of the country entirely.

"Why don't one of us go with you?" said Luce, her too-fake smile making it clear she wanted one of the others to keep an eye on him.

Skull stared her down with a flat expression.

"Let me rephrase what I just said. I want a couple hours as far away from Renato and the others without having the fact I'm stuck in the damn _mafia_ shoved down my throat every other hour," said Skull flatly, glaring at her.

"Tch. Just bring back some dinner Lackey."

Skull waved him off without agreeing to a damn thing. If he did this right then he could be free of this bullshit within an hour or so.

* * *

It took the group twelve hours to realize that Skull hadn't returned and another day and a half to realize he had managed to give them all the slip.

By that point Skull was clearly long gone.

"Alright, what the hell did you do Renato?" demanded Viper.

"What makes you assume this is my fault? Clearly the lackey couldn't handle it," said Renato. "And for that matter why do you even care?"

Viper took out a book they had found in their room and removed the envelope.

Seeing they had everyone's attention, they pulled out the contents...which were all three checks Skull had gotten on the jobs assigned to them from Checkerface.

"...Why do you have those?" asked Lal baffled.

"Skull left these in my room...the idiot used them as a bookmark of all things," said Viper.

"A...bookmark?" said Fon in disbelief.

Most people would cash them or deposit them.

Viper was still a bit surprised Skull had left the checks in their room in a place only they would have found it. They had already looked into it and found that Skull hadn't cashed a single one, which really begged the question of why.

For that matter Viper still couldn't find where Skull's bank account was. The Mist might like their money, but they disliked owing someone even more. It was as if Skull lived completely off the grid, which might explain why the Cloud had never cashed the checks.

"We can ask the Lackey what the hell he was thinking when we find him. Any idea where he went?" said Renato dismissively.

It would take them an uncomfortable ten minutes to realize not a single one of them knew _anything_ about Skull.

He claimed to be a stuntman, but Viper couldn't find a single hint of him ever performing a show. And Skull de Mort was obviously a fake name.

As if that wasn't enough, inspecting his room came up completely empty...it was clear from the dust alone it had never been used, which really begged the question of where Skull had been sleeping while he stayed there.

"It's like the idiot was a ghost. Have any of you found a single thing we can use to track him down?" said Lal.

Fon shook his head.

"Skull is apparently better at cleaning up after himself than we thought. I've searched for several hours and I haven't found a single scrap to indicate he had been living with us for any length of time, and none of us bothered to get to know him that well."

Viper kept their mouth shut. Renato, having sharp eyes looked at them suspiciously.

"You know something."

"I know Skull has been screwed over by a mind walker before, repeatedly," said Viper evenly.

"What makes you say that?" asked Fon curiously.

"When he found out Mists were naturals at getting into people's minds, he came and asked me the extent of what I could do with my flames. The second he found out I knew how to _create_ permanent mental shields, he paid me a very large sum of money to fix his. Apparently someone went into his mind a few years ago and completely destroyed his natural barriers against mind walkers, opening him up to repeated attacks from what I can only suspect was a certain Discorded Sky Latent considering he admitted to being from England," said Viper.

"...Are you telling me Skull was in the middle of the terrorist attacks almost two years ago?" said Fon carefully.

"He was on the side trying to put a stop to it on the front lines. He still has nightmares and I suspect he might have PTSD considering he kept having flashbacks while I helped him rebuild his shields," said Viper. Lal went pale hearing that particular tidbit...then again she was an ex-soldier so it was understandable she took that sort of thing very seriously.

The fact she never picked up on it really worried her. Then again Skull was unnaturally good at compartmentalizing from what she saw.

"Why did he leave?" said Verde.

"My best guess? Luce and Renato."

"I can understand Renato, considering how he treated Skull on a daily basis, but why Luce?" asked Fon.

"He _just_ left a country where he had been tortured by a Sky who was unconsciously attempting to either forcibly harmonize with him or murder him. I sincerely doubt the trauma of that sort of thing has even remotely begun to heal, so being around Luce would have been extremely painful, especially if there was no compatibility between them. And the fact she didn't really attempt to divert any of Renato's behavior away from Skull suggests there wasn't. In fact none of us really gave Skull a reason to stick around once he had enough."

"But he spent quite a bit of time around you," said Luce confused.

"According to Skull, I hate everyone equally but at least I could be counted on to give a straight answer and not pretty up the truth with false platitudes so long as I was paid. He said he 'knew where he stood' with me," said Viper.

In other words Skull was perfectly okay with paying Viper to tell him the honest truth and to divert Renato whenever the Sun was acting like a bigger asshole than normal with fake tasks to get him as far away from the hit man as possible.

Viper was _literally_ the only person who bothered to do even that much.

* * *

Skull sighed with relief. Leaving had been the best idea _ever_ and he was never going to regret that fact. Honestly, he wished he had thought of this sort of action years ago.

Then again, he was still underage a few years ago with minders all too happy to drag him back into _their_ problems because they were lazy bastards. The 'strongest seven' didn't really _need_ him in the first place outside of the fact he was a strong Cloud. They were all much more skilled than he was and had never really demanded his limited skill set (that they knew about) durig missions anyway.

He stretched out and relaxed.

This was much better, even if he was currently 'roughing' it with a magical tent out in the middle of nowhere.

Knowing Luce, she would demand they track him down for whatever reason and bring him back. The easiest way to avoid dealing with her again was to stay off the grid entirely.

Not too hard considering he wasn't really inclined to be around people for a while and was getting pretty good at foraging and hunting.

Then again, Renato had been such an ass that Skull was already brewing some polyjuice. The idiot shouldn't have left his brush out in the open like he had, especially when Skull had ample reason to get back at him.

After all, he was a Marauder's son and the adopted brother of their second coming...never mind the fact he was also the head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

Renato's behavior couldn't go unanswered, but Skull was willing to give the man some leeway since allowing him to live would give him more than enough opportunities to make his life a living nightmare. Besides, this was the perfect warning not to cross him or he would escalate into far more horrific and traumatizing pranks.

* * *

Viper had to resist the urge to cackle as yet another unlikely and rather shocking rumor about the recently named "World's Greatest Hit Man" reached their ears.

Then they saw Renato and had to fight back a snicker.

"What's so funny?" asked Fon. It had been two months since Skull disappeared and still they had no leads on him.

"Have you heard the latest rumors about Renato Sinclair?" asked Viper, openly smirking.

Fon's instinct said this would be blackmail _gold_ , so he forked over several large bills before Viper could say a word.

He would be right, and would soon join Viper in trying desperately to hold back his laughter whenever he saw Renato.

It would be Luce who enlightened him to the first of many, many rumors already spreading about him.

"Renato, don't take this the wrong way...but are you gay?" asked Luce slowly.

Renato slowly lowered his espresso cup.

"What?" he said baffled.

"I heard several rather... well, there's a rumor going around that your playboy persona is nothing more than a beard for the fact you're gay and happened to enjoy going into drag queen bars," said Luce carefully.

Fon and Viper looked at each other, before trying desperately to hide their laughter. Either way, Viper _still_ got some rather delightful pictures of Renato's expression hearing even a fraction of the rumors being spread about him. Fon paid the Mist in advance...there was no way he'd let the Sun live this down.

Renato looked torn between incredulous and pissed.

"Where the hell did you hear something like that?"

And who was going to die in as slow and painful a method as possible once he got his hands on the damn Mist that had to be responsible for this?

"It's all over the underworld," admitted Luce. "Along with one or two odd mentions of a Triad assassin fitting Fon's description, but the ones about you are considerably more prominent."

"Wait, what?!" said Fon in surprise.

"There's a few odd rumors about you, but they're nowhere near as interesting as the ones about Renato," repeated Luce.

"What kind of odd rumors?" asked Fon intently.

"I know the ones she's talking about, but from what I can tell it's mostly about you putting spike strips or ribbons in your braid," said Viper.

Fon looked relieved at that, even if hearing someone was going around with his face was highly disturbing. Still, the first part did sound like a rather intriguing idea...it would cut the number of comments about the braid he kept his hair in down at any rate if he decided to make it true.

"Wait...how do they know about a spike strip?" asked Fon.

"From what I heard, you've been seen in a few bars starting fights and a couple of idiots tried to grab your braid only to find out the hard way what was hidden inside it. Nothing too damaging but it makes you sound more like a typical hot-headed Storm compared to your usual calm demeanor," said Viper. "Compared to Renato who has been seen _repeatedly_ in drag and sometimes doesn't even bother to wear a fake bra. Several of his former lovers have seen him and recognized him instantly."

"Please, if I wanted to cross dress no one would know I was a man," said Renato without thinking. Only to realize too late that he wasn't helping his case at all.

Particularly since Luce quit responding to his light flirting and made a point never to be in the same room alone as him.

He never took her to be homophobic.


	117. Drifting Hearts Chapter Two

In hindsight, the fact Viper was the first to track Skull down after three months wasn't that surprising. After all, they were the only ones who knew what polyjuice was. All they had to do was track down the source of the rumors regarding Renato in an area they knew perfectly well the man wasn't in.

Viper waited for the potion to wear off...before he pinched Skull's ear.

"You're perilously close to endangering the Statute of Secrecy," said Viper with a hiss.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, but Renato's starting to figure out which area you'll appear in next and he wants your head on a pike," said Viper. "On an unrelated note, Luce is apparently homophobic. She refuses to be in the same room alone with Renato since he made a comment about having cross dressed before."

"Knew I didn't like her," said Skull. "Why are you warning me though?"

"You left enough money for me to owe you more than a few favors. I don't like being indebted to someone and the amount of cash we were being paid would bother me until I did something to actually earn it," said Viper.

Skull could understand that.

"Besides, the fact you were so quick to pay outrageous sums, even with gold, leads me to believe you're from much older money than the others would believe without hard proof. That or new money from a recently ennobled bloodline."

"Old blood, even older money from two different families," said Skull cheerfully. "Officially anyway."

Viper snorted. With how inbred that particular society was, Skull didn't have to explain more than that.

"Any particular reason you've been going around under a polyjuice as Renato?"

Skull's expression became considerably more dark.

"Because he's a dick who deserves it, and my dad's maternal family never took the idea of someone treating their own the way he did to me laying down. Besides, I'm a second generation prankster so this was the perfect payback to honor that while staying true to my heritage. I might have done Fon by accident the first time, but he was more of an outside observer to the whole thing so I only took his form once or twice as punishment without doing anything too incriminating," said Skull flatly.

Viper thought of their mother's family and how _they_ would have responded to the way Renato treated Skull if he was one of theirs. Permanent maiming would have been the _least_ of it, if Skull hadn't dealt with the man personally in a way he would never live through.

"You're not inverted at all."

"I have no idea if I am or not. The only reason I didn't attack the bastard directly is because I happen to have a longer fuse than most. Renato's lucky he didn't set off any of my triggers or there wouldn't have been enough to fill a thimble, much less a matchbox...and that's if I was feeling _merciful_ ," said Skull darkly. "I was hard enough to kill in the war...I've had time and inclination to become much, much more dangerous than he could comprehend."

Viper snorted.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're a Black."

"Which one?" asked Skull.

Viper blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"Which Black?"

"...Sirius Black."

"He was innocent and framed by a fourth member of his little gang who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord. The idiots never had the brains to check for the mark before entrusting him as secret keeper," said Skull promptly. Seeing the look Viper gave them he shrugged. "Potter was pretty damn vocal about how pissed he was everyone thought his godfather was after him when he found out what _really_ happened. He explained things and pointed out the evidence anyone with half a brain could find. Sirius Black never got a trial and when they captured him any statement he could have given was inadmissible due to the psychotic break he had."

"That...actually makes more sense than it doesn't," admitted Viper. "And to answer your question I meant any of the Blacks save for Bellatrix, who was simply a mad dog."

Skull wondered how Viper would react if they knew _he_ was the head of the Black family.

"Why the Blacks?" asked Skull curiously.

"I refuse to answer that without enough booze to overcome even an overpowered sobriety charm," said Viper immediately.

"...Would several bottles of very high quality scotch, bourbon, and other various alcohols placed under low-level stasis charms that would fetch a serious sum on the open market if they were sold unopened to idiots who barely know how to properly savor them be enough?" asked Skull.

He had the worst feeling he was going to need a bottle himself by the end of this discussion, and that giving the bottles to Viper would lead to a massive headache being uncovered.

Good thing he didn't give two-shits about pure blood politics or rules. If Viper was family like he suspected, it was only polite to find out why they had been cast out before he decided to surprise them by bringing them back like he had Andromeda and Teddy.

Skull had no problem signing a magically binding contract to not reveal anything of what Viper was about to tell him...or handing over seven bottles of high quality alcohol, one of which the Mist opened.

"I'm _technically_ a Black," said Viper.

"Technically?"

Viper looked very unhappy, but took a long drink. From what they had seen in Skull's mind, the Cloud was highly unlikely to give a damn about their heritage or spill the information to the wrong parties. After all, what would someone raised among muggles care about pure blood rules and politics?

"My mother was a Black...but the man who donated the other half of my genetics wasn't the man she was betrothed to. She found out immediately after having me that I wasn't the child of the man she was contracted to marry."

"Wait...so you're a bastard Black?"

"The contract from what I found out, would have had _severe_ consequences if it got out, to say nothing of what would have happened to my mother if her aunt got wind that she had become pregnant with a half-blood's child and allowed it to come to term. She decided to follow in the footsteps of countless teenage mothers before her and dumped me onto a church orphanage. When I learned which family I belonged to, I realized discretion was a far safer alternative compared to what the family or my mother's husband would have done upon discovering my bloodline."

Skull winced.

"So which school did you attend?"

"None. I've been learning bits and pieces of magic over the years, but it's safer to remain in the underworld than gain the attention of any of the Ministries," said Viper bitterly.

"...If you had the chance to learn magic and even own a proper wand, would you take it?"

Viper gave off a bitter laugh.

"You don't get it. The only way I could claim my rightful heritage would be if the head of the family accepted me as a proper Black regardless of my origins...even then the contract between my mother and the man she married would be broken because of her infidelity."

"Which Black sister was your mother?" said Skull curiously. He took a light pull of his scotch, savoring the taste.

"Narcissa," said Viper.

They blinked at the way Skull spat out the booze in shock.

"Narcissa, as in Narcissa _Malfoy_?" he said in disbelief.

Viper said nothing.

"Wait, if she's your mother then who was the father?"

"From what I found out, I'm the last of the Prince line."

Skull was glad he hadn't taken another drink, because he would have started to choke at that.

Oh gods... Narcissa got pregnant with Snape's _kid_? In a way it made a lot of sense, but he had to wonder if the asshole ever knew about the fact he had a son before he died.

Likely not, if the bitterness in Viper's voice about having to avoid the magical side of things to avoid anyone finding out about their heritage was any indication.

"Not that it really matters. I've come to terms with the fact I would never be able to claim my full inheritance."

"What about Potter? I heard he became the head of the family and he's nowhere near as high strung as the old crowd when it comes to bloodlines," said Skull.

"He's a national hero, and his hatred of the Malfoys and my father are well known. The odds of getting close enough to be reinstated with the family without being hexed or discreetly done away with are too low to even consider," said Viper dismissively. "Besides, everyone knows he's in England, which I refuse to go near on the grounds it's filled with idiots."

"And the fact that his 'best friends' would immediately assume you're as Slytherin as the rest and be openly suspicious about your motives is just another factor," sighed Skull.

Viper said nothing.

"What are you going to do now?"

"You've already paid me more than enough to keep the others off your tail. If you agree to quit ruining Sinclair's reputation you might be able to throw him off enough that he won't be able to track you down and end you as messily as possible."

Skull looked at Viper seriously.

"Please for the love of all things sane and holy don't tell me you plan to continue with that ridiculous group."

"The pay is rather good," said Viper.

"Luce is like a mafia version of Dumbledore! Except instead of the bullshit 'grandfather' card she keeps trying to play the 'maternal' image! She's clearly setting everyone up for a plot that would screw everyone over and none of you are seeing it!"

Viper paused.

"What."

"Luce is like an active, maternal version of Albus bloody Dumbledore, complete with greater good bullshit. I could see it in her eyes...there's something she's not telling us about this whole strongest seven crap and I _know_ it's going to screw us over long term."

Viper paused to consider this. Luce had been adamant that Skull was 'necessary' for their group, to the point she refused to find a replacement.

Skull was right...something about the whole thing seemed highly suspicious, such as the fact Luce didn't tell them exactly what she had 'seen', just hints. And really, the whole offer was rather odd considering the fact that their 'client' could have gotten most of what they wanted done with _half_ the people he gathered considering the competence of Renato and Fon.

"You may be right."

"You mean it _doesn't_ seem weird that this Checkerface guy gathered the seven strongest flames in our generation? Seven is a magically important number and this entire thing feels fishy to me," said Skull.

Viper felt a chill go down their spine at that. They hadn't considered the implications of someone gathering _seven_ of the strongest soul fire users, or that there was one of each type.

Suddenly Luce's deflections in regards to why they were actually hired had a far more sinister meaning.

When Viper went back to the small manor that they were forced to share with everyone else, they considered the implications of what Skull said.

Clearly the Cloud had picked up on something was horribly wrong with this situation...which, when coupled with the way Renato had treated him and the fact no one other than Viper had bothered to help Skull in any way, meant that he had ample reason to leave and never return.

* * *

Viper considered the pros and cons of sticking around.

Renato had become increasingly irate after he realized someone was deliberately destroying his reputation. And to be honest, while the money was good it wasn't _that_ good when all signs pointed to the fact that Luce wasn't their Sky.

Compared to Skull, who was almost painfully naive and had shown a rather lax attitude when it came to money, and their mystery client who might be setting them up Viper didn't have to think overly hard about their decision.

Checkerface could go hang. They refused to be lead like a lamb to the slaughter.

Viper discreetly removed all their things and waited for the opportune time to leave. Out of the group, only Fon picked up on what they were doing but withheld his silence.

At least he did when he cornered Viper to find out why the Mist was planning to follow Skull's example and ditch the group.

"Something seems suspicious about this 'strongest seven' nonsense. And I for one refuse to be turned into a sacrifice by a possible divine or demonic entity for their sick and twisted amusement."

Fon blinked.

"Divine or demonic entity?"

"Think about it. How did Checkerface find out so much about us without any of our usual warnings being tipped off? Why is Luce being so secretive about why we were really gathered? What possible purpose could be had gathering the seven strongest Elements in our generation when only a handful would have been suspicious for these so-called missions to be completed successfully?"

Fon blinked, before his eyes hardened at the implications. Viper's words did not paint a pleasant picture and a lot of little clues were starting to add up into something he didn't particularly like.

The Mist was right... Checkerface's identity didn't add up and there were countless stories over the course of history about what happened when one humored the whims of a divine or demonic entity in regards to minor adventures.

Never mind Luce's own behavior... her dismissal of Renato's treatment to the Cloud was not proper Sky behavior, especially when they were supposed to keep the group together. It was as if she was merely putting on the motions of trying to gather them as her Guardians so that they would be too blinded by the possibility of a Harmony bond to see the blow from behind coming.

"...Do you know where he is?"

"I refuse to comment," said Viper.

Which was as good as a yes. If the Mist didn't know, then Fon would have gotten a straight answer from them.

"Do you think he would be willing to accept one more? I do not particularly appreciate the idea of being hung out to dry for some convoluted plot," said Fon.

"I can see if he would agree to it. If nothing else we can set you up with a temporary identity until we determine what the hell is really going on," said Viper. "For a fee of course."

Fon inclined his head. He did not want to be caught off guard.


	118. Rainbow's Heart Chapter One

**Due to the number of people who wish to borrow ideas from my drabbles, I've decided to post the rather simple rules I have regarding the stories that don't get posted as full ones.**

 **One: Anyone who wishes to borrow the idea has to remember to credit me with the original concept.**

 **Two: That you at least attempt to link me to the story once it's posted.**

 **The second one is optional, but the first one isn't. I have no issue with people borrowing story ideas or concepts from my drabbles if they never get made into a full story, but I would like to be credited with the initial idea.**

* * *

Tsubasa Sawada _hated_ her life. Fortunately, she had a plan to remedy that and a great many other ills that she had endured ever since Reborn showed up and somehow managed to convince the Ninth that she was the one who should be Decima, rather than her twin brother Tatsuya. Her brother was a total ass, and payback would be _hers_.

"So just to be clear, I get in this and I can go back to my younger self?" she asked Verde, Spanner and Shōichi.

"Yes, yes. Anything to get away from that dratted paperwork, right?" said Verde impatiently.

The twenty-four year old Decima smirked.

"Do you have everything in your hammer space," deadpanned Spanner. He knew it was called 'mist bindings', but Hammer Space sounded more fun and was easier to explain.

She had mastered that trick faster than anything in her life. If it meant escaping the hellish paperwork she never wanted, the headaches of having to be the one to say no, having to deal with Reborn (she loved the man, but he was a total nightmare when she was already having a crappy day), and her brother in general... screw it all, she'd dump it on the idiot who thought being the boss was great and let him deal with it.

So yeah, she had _jumped_ at the chance to be the test dummy and get a do-over. She loved her Guardians, but she _loathed_ being the boss.

Let her bratty brother deal with this crap.

* * *

 _One Week Later..._

Tsubasa looked at the ceiling and barely withheld her glee. Then she looked at the calendar and grinned even wider. To top it all off, she was definitely four again.

She tested her hammer space...everything checked out there, including the rings. She was sorely tempted to bring out Natsu, to cuddle with her beloved lion.

But that would mean waking up her Flames even earlier. And that was _not_ a good idea, considering how that jackass reacted the first time around.

She couldn't remember _exactly_ what happened the first time...the seal made that very fuzzy...but she remembered it involved a pink ball and a tree.

She looked at her hands. They were so tiny. Unblemished. _Untainted_.

She had a year. One year to enjoy being a small little girl without a care in the world before she had to play "avoid the jackass" for a week.

The second that critical time period passed, she was going to start calling him that every time she saw him. It was ingrained in her and not even _Reborn_ had been able to get it out of her. Admittedly, he didn't try _that_ hard to get her to drop the openly insulting nickname.

Iemitsu was very much a braying jackass who needed someone to pull his head of out of his ass before Lal Mirch murdered him in his sleep.

Tsubasa had once told the broken Arcobaleno that if she ever did snap and kill the jackass, she would get a slap on the wrist and a very long paid vacation to the location of her choice.

Iemitsu had choked on his sake the second he heard that, before trying to worm his way into the long-lost patience she had for her sperm donor. It hadn't worked.

The fact Lal Mirch kept giving the jackass speculative looks when she knew damn well he was watching her entertained Tsubasa greatly.

(The fact said looks went hand-in-hand with discreet large bribes on part of Reborn, Tsubasa _and_ Xanxus was a coincidence, and they would stick to that story. Colonello certainly found it hilarious.)

Tatsuya had no idea what his twin was planning. He was still a normal kid and as much as she hated doing this, she couldn't take it anymore.

He wanted to be Decimo the first time, so she would let him. He wanted all the limelight, and she fully blamed Iemitsu's sporadic influence since the man was clearly a sexist pig who preferred his son over his daughter.

If Tatsuya thought it was a _smart_ idea to emulate the jackass...well, she'd be ready to pick up the pieces once the idiot got it through his head that the mafia wasn't a game like Takeshi once thought.

Hey, she was a girl and she had way too much crap to deal with the first time around. She was allowed to be petty as hell!

* * *

 _Tsubasa, age 5_

This was the week. The moment when everything changed because of that jackass and his demands that a seal be placed on her.

Just one more week. She knew Iemitsu's patterns better than he did...he hated civilian life, and only married her mother because he needed an heir to shut up Daniela.

She saw the way he acted. The small details that gave Reborn his "mind reading" ability and knew he wouldn't last more than a week.

The day she actually asked Reborn how the hell he was able to read minds, and learned it was less "invasion of mental privacy" and more "reading the thousand tiny queues people dismiss" (she learned there was an actual term for it... "Cold Reading" was a skill many a fake psychic used on people to scam them for money or publicity) she practically demanded he teach her.

Reborn, never one to pass up an excuse to shoot at his beloved students for the sake of learning useful (or pointless) skills, had gleefully done just that.

The way people openly shuddered when they realized Reborn had somehow trained his student to be _just like him_ was so damn funny the two of them made a point to meet up and do it just for laughs.

Dino's reactions when he realized what she was doing was so damn funny it still made her laugh her ass off. Reborn may or may not have smirked rather evilly to make his twitching worse.

Tatsuya accidentally kicked the ball too hard and it got stuck in the tree. She could tell none of the adults were willing to take a break to get it down, which left the daring little girl to get it so they could keep playing.

Feeling the branch under her creak, an epiphany hit her.

 _Oh...this was when I activated my Dying Will for the first time._

Well, she wasn't a kid and the idea of a broken arm wasn't that scary anymore.

She suffered worse from a single fight with Hibari.

She managed to get the ball down, and when the branch gave in full view of the adults who did _nothing_ to catch her, she reigned in her Flames so tightly there was no chance of it slipping out.

There was a sharp, painful crack and she didn't bother to hide her reaction. Nana came home just in time to find her daughter bawling her eyes out, pink ball on the ground and her arm clearly in a lot of pain.

She was _not_ pleased finding out from Tatsuya that her daughter had gone up the tree on her _own_ and her husband and his boss stood by and watched her break her arm without even once stopping her or attempting to help liberate the ball for her. She was even less pleased that Iemitsu had shown zero inclination to get up and his boss had only just started to stand when her daughter fell from the tree.

Timoteo wouldn't exactly be _welcomed_ in the home anytime soon. And Iemitsu found himself sleeping on the couch for the last night of his visit and a cold breakfast the next morning from his very pissed off wife.

Tsubasa hated the cast, but she'd rather have a broken arm over that damn seal. Thanks to Reborn, she was fairly proficient in Sun Flames, so it came off a little quicker than normal. No one batted an eye...children tended to heal faster than adults anyway and she bounced right back.

Now she was free to discreetly gather her Guardians a second time.

* * *

Fon was both horrified and highly amused when, during one of his rare times away from the Triads to visit his sister, he found his nephew in the presence of a rather discreet Sky. A Sky that for some terrifying reason was far too much like Reborn when he was in a trolling mood.

On the plus side, he would finally have an answer to that annoying mind reading trick Reborn liked to use on people.

Tsubasa Sawada was an adorable, fluffy little girl. And an Active Sky.

He could feel that pretty quick, though she apparently had enough of a handle on it that while it leaked quite a bit, it didn't go near Kyouya or Fon personally.

It was something of a relief, because he hated that empty feeling when a Sky tried to claim him, only to fail because he was simply too strong for them. That ache that came from knowing a taste of having a home where he belonged, only to be rejected because they couldn't sustain it.

Fon had a well hidden disdain for most Skies that tried to claim him as a Storm. Like he was some sort of prize for them to show off.

There was a knowing sort of gaze in the girl's expression. Kyouya looked rather irritated seeing him (his pride made him irritable that he couldn't beat Fon), but settled at the gentle hand on his arm.

Fon almost felt rather jealous of his nephew. His Sky had somehow managed to track him down and was already in the very beginning stages of harmonizing with the rather vicious Cloud he knew the boy to be.

Seeing the little girl try and stumble through a few beginning martial arts moves while sparring with Kyouya (which explained why he even showed an interest in a girl), Fon's teaching side kicked in.

Tsubasa seemed happy for the instruction and was an attentive student.

Every time her Sky tried to drift towards Fon, she reigned it in quickly.

For the first time in far too long, Fon found himself relaxing in the presence of a Sky.

It was as she was about to leave for home that she let something slip that had Fon thinking.

"You should get Kyouya-kun a bird. Or a small animal like a hedgehog...he seems to like them better than the big snarly ones."

Fon blinked.

"Oh?"

"Sometimes little birds will flock towards him when he's napping in a tree and he never even seems to mind. I think he likes them," said Tsubasa in a conspirator's whisper.

Fon smiled. Come to think of it he had seen that happen a few times, right before Kyouya registered his presence and came at him with tonfas blazing.

He had to leave for a few days in order to complete a hit...but when he returned he had something hidden inside a small box for Kyouya.

"Carnivore," said Kyouya, dismissively.

"Don't be like that Kyouya... I brought something for you."

Considering he had gotten a box big enough to be mistaken for some new tonfas, he wasn't surprised when Kyouya took the bait. Especially since Kyouya's current set was looking like they were one good hit away from breaking.

The look on Kyouya's face when he opened the box to find a small ball of yellow feathers that promptly hopped along his arm to nest on his shoulder was absolutely priceless. Good thing Fon had a camera.

A few blackmail pictures later, and Kyouya was back to glaring.

Except for once he didn't immediately try to challenge Fon to a fight.

"What is this, carnivore?" he demanded. Fon was rather pleased with himself... his nephew's tone wasn't nearly as antagonistic like it normally was.

"It's a little friend. Tsubasa-chan said you might be lonely and pointed out that you happen to like small birds. This poor fellow was stuck on a branch, so I thought you might enjoy his company," said Fon.

"Hibari! Hibari!" chirped the bird happily.

Kyouya looked at it for a moment, uncertain how to react. It was the most positive interaction Fon had gotten from his nephew in _years_ , since the boy's Cloud instincts first started waking up and he started seeing his uncle as a rival. He missed those days.

It was to this scene that Tsubasa arrived to. She clapped her hands in delight, and promptly gave the bird it's new name.

"Hibird!"

Kyouya blinked, before he stared at her. Then he looked at his new feathery companion.

"It fits him," he said finally, before going off to nap.

The newly dubbed "Hibird" nestled in Kyouya's hair like a nest. It was a strangely peaceful scene and Fon was very pleased to witness it.

"Your suggestion worked," said Fon. He was genuinely smiling for once. It had been far too long since he had made any headway to bonding with his nephew.

"He likes small animals," said Tsubasa.

"Would you like to learn more martial arts while he bonds with his new little friend?" asked Fon.

Tsubasa's smile warmed his heart. There was something so warm and accepting about it... it was how a Sky _should_ be, but most failed at.

It was so easy to fall into a familiar pattern of teaching a student. He didn't do it often, since it was rare to find anyone worth the time and effort to teach, but this girl was a gem in the rough. It was so relaxing that he almost missed the little things that most people wouldn't notice to begin with.

Tsubasa didn't fight like a complete novice trying to learn something new.

She fought more like someone recently cursed into a smaller body trying to familiarize themselves with a much shorter reach. She fought the same way Fon had when he was first cursed to this form.

But he knew for a fact that Luce was still living...for the moment. She was fading, and wouldn't last another five years. And until then she was the Sky Arcobaleno.

Which begged the question why he kept imagining Tsubasa-chan at least a decade older when he saw her, with eyes blazing with Sky Flames. And how she knew Kyouya liked birds to the point he'd put aside his disdain of his uncle long enough to tolerate his presence without fighting.

Hibird flew over to Tsubasa, and settled in her caramel colored locks.

"Hime! Hime!" he chirped.

Tsubasa blinked.

"Hime?"

"You're tolerable to be around," said Kyouya dismissively.

Fon hid a smirk. If he hadn't already guessed that his nephew was being drawn to this gentle and open Sky, that would have clued him in. Kyouya was very much a 'lone wolf', so for him to give her a title like "princess" so openly was a major tell that he was being drawn in to her Sky.

Besides, Tsubasa was adorable when she blushed like that.


	119. Rainbow's Heart Chapter Two

Fon observed Tsubasa-chan and her brother. Tatsuya acted like a normal boy without any of the same 'tells' his sister gave off. He was clearly a Flame Latent, which really begged the question why his twin sister went active before he did. Tsubasa made a point to include her brother in any activity that would only benefit him...she did her best not to exclude her twin from anything.

Kyouya wouldn't know anything was wrong until the girl slipped up, but considering some of the rumors Fon had heard of the Bovino famiglia and their attempts at time travel, the more a crazy idea started to form in his head.

Tsubasa was a bit _too_ competent for an eight-year-old girl in martial arts. And her grasp on her Flames were too natural to come from anything but long, hard training in how to use them. Not to mention the way she acted around Kyouya.

All of it spoke of years of repeated interaction with his nephew. The only reason Fon didn't act on his suspicions was because there was an open sense of fondness towards Kyouya. And a deep resolve in her eyes that said volumes of the lengths she would go to keep him safe if something happened.

Fon wanted to ask her if she knew the future...except any questions he may have had died when her 'father' showed up and realized she was an Active Sky.

Iemitsu Sawada reacted poorly, to say the least.

Within a few hours he had his two children and his wife bustled onto the first plane to Italy, without telling them anything.

Fon frowned.

"Kyouya, how would you like to go to Italy to find your hime?" asked Fon.

Honestly, how exactly had Iemitsu missed the fact Fon was there watching the entire thing, much less that the girl was Active already? Then again, he couldn't recall a single instance when he had seen or heard Tsubasa and Tatsuya's father in the home, and he had visited a few times already. There were hardly any pictures of the man.

Kyouya frowned.

"Give me one good reason."

"Your hime is in another country full of carnivores that will almost certainly target her the first chance they have if they realize she's there, without anyone to keep them off her," said Fon without hesitation.

Kyouya was already packing a single backpack, while his mother gave a white lie to the school to explain a two-week absence. Hibird was chirping cheerfully while it flew around his head.

* * *

 _In Italy_

Tsubasa was on guard the _second_ Iemitsu declared a holiday in Italy. She knew Fon was watching, and hoped he had the sense to bring Kyouya.

Considering he knew full well Kyouya was starting to drift in her Sky, it was almost certain he'd bring his nephew to find her once he figured out something was wrong. She _never_ missed a training session.

Iemitsu clearly realized she was Active and was either planning to seal her, or would alert Nono to get her trained.

Considering the jackass was an idiot of the highest order and hadn't realized she was already gathering Guardians, she was betting on the former.

Still, this was an opportunity she wasn't about to miss.

"Can I hug you?" she asked with wide, sparkly eyes upon spotting Lal Mirch.

The former COMSUBIN trainer glared at Iemitsu for having to endure the indignity of being turned into a living teddy bear for an eight year old. Nana just cooed at them.

Lal was _not_ a happy camper at all. She barely tolerated kids in general.

"Ne, onee-san, where did you get those cool glasses?" asked Tsubasa innocently.

It took Lal a few seconds to register _what_ Tsubasa called her.

"Onee-san?" asked Lal, turning to look at the girl.

"You look like a really cool, responsible older sister," said Tsubasa innocently.

For some reason, Lal felt herself relaxing in the girl's presence. Something, perhaps old instincts as a soldier, demanded that she stick close to the baby Sky who kept her Flames close and didn't let them drift too close to the broken Arcobaleno.

Iemitsu was up to something and she had the distinct feeling it wouldn't be a good thing for his daughter.

So it was with some surprise when she saw the girl expertly sneak out of the Vongola mansion and leave the grounds _without being spotted once_.

Lal Mirch was on her shoulder in a heartbeat.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere that jackass isn't," said Tsubasa without hesitation or remorse. Lal raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you hear that word? And who are you referring to?"

"The jackass, aka my 'father'," said Tsubasa, using a very sarcastic tone the second she said 'father'. "I'm not about to trust a man who makes Mama cry so much and is never there."

Lal wanted to defend her boss, almost. Except she knew damn well Nono gave Iemitsu plenty of opportunities to visit his family and he NEVER took them, save for once in a blue moon to prove he 'cared' about them. And he had yet to stay longer than a week, if that.

She might not have had a chance to be a parent or have a normal relationship after being cursed...but even she would openly admit Iemitsu totally had this sort of animosity coming.

Still...

"It's a bit dangerous for a little girl to wander alone around Italy, especially in a big city," said Lal neutrally, settling onto her shoulder properly.

"But I'm not alone," said Tsubasa, looking at Lal fully. "I have Onee-san with me."

Lal almost flinched at the sheer _power_ behind those orange-tinted eyes. The girl was an Active Sky and Lal had the distinct feeling this kid knew what Flames were. There was a large amount of trust and resolve in her eyes.

"Besides, I have the feeling Kyouya-kun will show up sooner rather than later, and we should probably be there to greet him. Odds are his uncle will take him to the air port closest to the mansion," said Tsubasa.

"Who's Kyouya?"

"He's a grumpy guss who's likes to pretend he's a carnivore!" said Tsubasa cheerfully. "He's got this adorable little bird named Hibird that cheers him on when he bites people."

Lal stared. She wasn't even going to try and decipher that.

For several hours, Lal ended up playing an inadvertent tour guide of sorts (Tsubasa apparently spoke Italian, which made things so much easier) and dodging the increasingly frantic Vongola searching for the missing girl.

Lal was openly disgusted when she saw no less than _twelve_ CEDEF agents walk _right past them_ and not even register her presence on the girl's shoulder. She was going to make them all undergo training from hell to make up for such negligence.

Then again she was completely unaware of the fact that to their eyes, she was a rather odd looking bird on the shoulder of a plain looking female that was easily dismissed.

Mukuro would be so proud/amused at the way Tsubasa was making the "dirty mafioso" run in circles trying to find her.

Lal didn't even ask when Tsubasa made a beeline straight for the air port. At least not until her pacifier started glowing.

"Hello little one. I see you've made an _interesting_ friend," said a familiar voice.

"Fon-sensei!" said Tsubasa happily. "Kyouya-kun!"

"Hmph. You better have a good explanation for leaving, _hime_ ," said Kyouya unamused.

Tsubasa made a face.

"The jackass dragged us to Italy without even a proper explanation and keeps thinking I haven't figured out he's up to something. Onee-san here has been keeping me company while the men who work with the jackass have been playing hide and seek with us!"

Fon blinked at the way she called her father such a derogatory nickname without even a second thought. Then again, he had yet to see anything that proved Iemitsu was a proper father to begin with. Then he registered what Tsubasa called Lal Mirch and grinned.

"Big sister?" he repeated.

"Shut up! It's not like I could let a kid wander around Italy without keeping an eye on her!" said Lal blushing.

Fon chuckled.

"So you've been playing hide and seek with people who work with your father?"

"They're really bad at it. They keep missing us when we're right in front of them," said Tsubasa with a straight face. "I think Onee-san is going to make them do a lot of running when they finally find us."

Seeing the expression on Lal's face, Fon openly snorted. A lot of running was putting it _very_ mildly from her irritation.

It took the Vongola _three_ hours before they finally found the missing girl.

Lal Mirch was quick to jump on her subordinates for missing the kid when she was right in front of their damn faces with _her_ on the girl's shoulder. They were too busy cowering in the face of the irate woman to dare ask why there was now two extra children with the girl. Fon was very good at disguises, though not as good as Reborn.

* * *

It took a lot to surprise the Vongola's Ninth boss...but apparently little Tsubasa-chan was a natural at it.

She managed to disappear for over half a day, evading many, many patrols out to find her...only to reappear near dinner with what could only be her Cloud Guardian. A boy who looked far too much like the Storm Arcobaleno to be a coincidence.

It took him a few seconds to register a second 'child' in her arms. One that was too calm and just the right size for an Arcobaleno.

There really wasn't much of a leap in logic to guess which one, considering the Cloud next to the girl.

"Fon, I take it?" he inquired.

The 'child' removed the hat and glasses, but didn't bother to leave Tsubasa's arms.

"My nephew needed a proper minder...and a translator. We weren't expecting Tsubasa-hime to be waiting for us already at the air port. I must say that it took your men far too long to notice us once we left the air port."

"Can I assume that your...nephew...is Tsubasa-chan's Cloud?"

"He's already past the beginning stages of harmonizing with her," said Fon evenly. "Once he's fully Active I have little doubt he'll form a full bond."

Nono hummed. Iemitsu had practically demanded that he seal his daughter the second he learned the girl had active Sky Flames.

However it was much more dangerous to seal a Sky that was already in the process of calling Guardians to her. Especially with an indirect connection to the Arcobaleno.

Tsubasa yawned, as the strain of maintaining the illusions on top of wandering around Palermo with something close to an escort took it's toll on her. Kyouya was looking sleepy as well, since jet lag was starting to catch up to him.

Timoteo chuckled.

"Perhaps it would be best if the little ones ate first before heading to bed. It's been a very...eventful...day for them after all."

It didn't escape him that the little princess stayed very close to her Cloud, even going so far as to cuddle with the disgruntled boy who just let her.

 _Later that night..._

Iemitsu snuck into the room, to drag his daughter before Nono to have her Flames sealed. A civilian didn't need them, and it was better that she wasn't awake for it.

He was _not_ expecting an attack from a pissed off, sleep-deprived Cloud/Mist with a pair of tonfas.

"Fake carnivore, for waking me up I will bite you to death," snarled the brat.

What the hell was this kid doing in the room Nono had told him his daughter was in?!

It took a lot of his skills to avoid having his head caved in, so he completely missed the vindictive and happy look on his daughter's face as she promptly pulled the Storm Arcobaleno closer.

Fon had found himself the impromptu teddy bear of the surprisingly quick Tsubasa who had snagged him while half asleep after she visited the bathroom.

She was smiling openly at the sight of her 'father' having to defend himself from her irate Cloud Guardian for waking him up simply by getting too close.

"Go back to sleep, little hime," said Fon.

"This is why I snuck out and waited for you two to come," she said hugging him close. "I really don't trust that man."

Kyouya came in looking very irritable, but plopped down back where he was before. He tried very hard not to blush at the chaste kiss on the cheek Tsubasa gave him for driving Iemitsu away from her.

Fon smirked.

"Who or what is that brat in my daughter's room?!" demanded Iemitsu. He was bruised and battered, with his right arm broken in two places.

"It would seem little Tsubasa-chan has already begun calling strong Guardians to her," said Timoteo chuckling. It was very clear Iemitsu had gotten on the wrong end of the little girl's Cloud.

"I don't care about that! I want that _boy_ far from my little princess and her Flames sealed!" said Iemitsu irate.

Timoteo frowned at the tone.

"No."

"No?" repeated Iemitsu incredulous.

"Are you really that much of an idiot? I can see why the girl called you a braying jackass," said Lal.

"She what?!"

Timoteo looked at Lal Mirch questioningly.

"The little princess never called Iemitsu her father. She only referred to him as 'jackass' when asked about what she knew of him. She refuses to see him as her father citing that he was never around and made her mother cry far too often," said Lal. She scowled at Iemitsu. "And you're a complete idiot if you think _Fon_ would allow you to seal her Flames at this stage."

Iemitsu blinked.

"What does the Storm Arcobaleno have to do with this?"

"The boy you ran into is his nephew...and last I saw, Tsubasa-hime was cuddling with Fon as a makeshift teddy bear earlier," said Timoteo amused.

"Really?" said Lal with a devious gleam in her eyes. This would totally make up for him hearing the girl's nickname for her!

"At any rate, I'm certain we could reach an...arrangement... with Fon to train Tsubasa without alerting her to the mafia in the process. From what he's told me earlier, he has already begun training her in hand-to-hand combat," said Timoteo.

Iemitsu couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"This is the first I've heard of her meeting him!" he protested.

"Well considering no less than twelve of our men walked right past us earlier without even registering my presence on her shoulder, that doesn't surprise me," said Lal irate.

"What?!"

"I was literally on her shoulder the entire time we were off the grounds and saw a dozen CEDEF agents walk right past us without even noticing the fact I was on her shoulder," said Lal flatly. "I will be putting _everyone_ through remedial training when we get back."

Iemitsu was not happy. Not only was his daughter sleeping in the same bed as two _boys_ (one of which was an Arcobaleno, but still!) but now Timoteo was openly refusing to seal her Flames!

It was only going to get worse from there.


	120. Something's Gotta Give Chapter One

"What. Happened."

There was no room for flowery talk. Reborn was well and truly pissed and definitely in the mood to kill someone, preferably the culprit responsible for this mess.

Hikari was in a mafia-affliated hospital being treated for _extreme_ mental and physical fatigue, some rather nasty stomach ulcers and everything that could be associated with being stuck with the responsibility of a bunch of crazy and destructive idiots who apparently didn't get the concept of giving their Sky ONE day of peace and quiet without paperwork for collateral damage (among other things).

Under normal circumstances, Vongola Medical would have been very quick to transfer their Donna back to their care. If only for security reasons.

Except right now they were neck deep in trying to keep her _Guardians_ alive after whatever hit the Iron Fort.

Oh, and the death of Iemitsu but no one was really concerned when their Decimo was in the hospital along with her guardians.

Reborn was going to visit her next once he finally got his hands on the security tapes and figured out what the hell exactly happened here.

Finally, the tapes were located.

And Reborn wasn't the only one staring. Mammon, who had come along with Xanxus to find out who their new possible enemy was, merely sighed.

"I was wondering when she would finally snap."

Reborn looked at Mammon.

"What."

Unknown to most, Hikari had paid Mammon for lessons on how to make a Mist clone with the vain hope that it would help alleviate some of the paperwork on her desk.

She had been _highly_ motivated with the hopes of getting rid of enough of it that she could reasonably take a break and not die from the mountain of paper.

There had been quite a bit of progress on her end, but the clone wasn't yet cohesive enough to do the signature without someone realizing what she was doing.

Mammon rewound the tape, and pointed at a dark mist that came out of the collapsed girl.

Reborn watched in fascination as a strange dark orange and indigo mist flowed from the exhausted woman...right as Iemitsu appeared for whatever ridiculous reason he had come up with to harass his daughter this time.

The second he got within proximity of the mist, it attacked. Rather violently at that, to the delight of Xanxus.

Iemitsu was _shredded_ , but there was no blood as the mist was superheated to the point it seared the areas it tore apart.

Alerted by the fight, Hayato and Takeshi came into the room.

Only by this point the mist had taken physical form, and proceeded to lay the Guardians to waste. To an outside observer who hadn't seen it form, they would assume the Vongola was under attack. Hikari had slid under the desk by this point, completely out of view of the main door.

All the guardians save for Kyouya and Chrome, who weren't in the mansion at the time, were beaten within an inch of their life and would certainly have more than a few scars when they recovered. Lambo was lucky...the mist only gave him a decent concussion and broke his arms and legs.

They watched as the mist flowed into the unconscious girl...and somehow managed to teleport her body to a proper hospital that would recognize the ring on her finger.

Reborn had heard the rest from the _very_ irate staff at the hospital. The 'young woman' had checked in claiming to have stomach issues, had sat down close to the wall and before the doctor could even come to see her had passed out. The staff was very quick to give her a private room once they saw the ring and someone realized they were dealing with an unconscious Sky.

Naturally the doctors ordered a full physical to find out why she collapsed like that and had been spitting nails ever since.

"You're telling me that Hikari's subconscious finally had enough of the crap her Guardians and Iemitsu pulled...and went on a rampage?"

"The girl has the patience of a saint, but everyone has a limit to the abuse they'll put up with. Her fuse was simply longer than most, and the training she was doing with me finally gave the girl an outlet," said Mammon simply.

"So what now?" said Xanxus, almost disappointed there wasn't anyone to kill. On the plus side, Iemitsu was no longer going to be his problem and maybe now the girl might show a bit more spine.

"Now I am going to head to the hospital and find out _exactly_ what the idiots here kept missing when they did her check-ups and find out how badly I am going to be giving Ryohei and Hayato a long _talk_ about the condition their Sky is in. If you want to be useful, find out why the hell her desk was always overflowing whenever I visited and why the only one that does the least amount of damage that requires her to deal with the aftermath was the fucking Cloud," said Reborn flatly.

Kyouya was the most bloodthirsty of her Guardians, and yet he caused the _least_ amount of paperwork to cross her desk. Whether it was because of the efficiency of Kusakabe or because people were too terrified of him in particular he did know, but the unacceptable fact was that her Storm and Sun caused more paperwork to cross her desk compared to the one that was nearly impossible to control. The only times he _did_ cause an abundance of paperwork was usually because someone had royally pissed him off or Mukuro had goaded him into another fight.

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

Reborn's openly displeased aura grew even worse the more the doctor gave him a complete prognosis of Hikari's condition.

It went beyond "extreme fatigue and exhaustion". Hikari was working her body to the bone trying to keep the paperwork from overwhelming her desk (Reborn already found the stash of special bullets that Leon made to draw out someone's dying will in a hidden compartment in the desk...he found it worrying that over half of the box was used up) and her flames were dangerously low.

Hikari was only twenty-four years old, and she already had some rather nasty ulcers that would require an operation to remove. It was clear she had never given her body any chance to proper rest or recover from hours of pouring over paperwork, and the doctors had been rather livid upon discovering signs of the bullets being used with depressing frequency. She was going to require a special diet until her weight came back up to healthy levels and that wasn't even getting into how pale she was from lack of sunlight.

She was currently in a coma, and if she woke up at any time within the next three days the doctors weren't even going to hesitate medicating her to insure she slept for another two. It was that bad.

Reborn heard his phone ring.

"Chaos. What did you find out?"

" _There's some bullshit 'tradition' among the Guardians to bury their Skies under paperwork so they don't have to deal with Vongola craziness except for small doses,"_ said Mammon flatly. _"You_ know _how the Vongola is about it's traditions, and these idiots apparently took it upon themselves to insure that Hikari never made it out of the office by_ deliberately _misbehaving often enough that if she didn't stay tied to her desk there was a chance the room would have overflowed. How is she?"_

"If she wakes any time within the next three days, the doctors will deliberately medicate her to put her into a medically induced coma for another two," said Reborn bluntly. "She's going to require surgery and a specialized diet because she's very underweight and hasn't slept properly in over a month."

He was going to bite the heads off her idiotic Guardians for letting it get this bad, much less causing it.

Either way he had time to wait...after all most of them were still in surgery and in 'critical condition' after the ass-kicking her psyche had given them.

Wonder of wonders, Kyouya and surprisingly Chrome came seven hours after Reborn himself had, which was roughly five hours after the mess went down.

"What. Happened."

Kyouya was not happy. Chrome was drawing some rather horrifying parallels between Hikari and what she went through before Mukuro found her.

"What happened is that you idiots kept creating more paperwork for her to go over and never gave her a chance to rest and recover," snapped Reborn.

Chrome wilted at that. Kyouya, however did not back down.

"Unlike the fake carnivores, I at least _did_ my own reports. The other fools were pathetic enough to dump their responsibility on her first," said Kyouya irritably.

Well that explained why Kyouya gave her the least grief, paperwork wise. Reborn turned his eyes to Chrome, who couldn't fully tear her eyes off her boss.

"Hayato was adamant that we keep the boss safe behind and desk and kept trying to locate where she hid the stash of bullets you gave her last time. He was not happy every time we felt her flames flare in a way that said she used one of them up to cut down on the paperwork and deliberately went out to start a fight to make more once it was done."

"That pathetic puppy is so damn territorial he won't even allow the Omnivore to find a proper mate. He keeps scaring them off," said Kyouya dimissively. "The other fake carnivores keep bleating about her 'duty' to the family and producing an heir, but the feral puppy won't let anyone near her. I think she was seriously contemplating getting it done without anyone at all just to shut them up."

Reborn looked pissed.

"Are you telling me that _Hayato_ kept her from relaxing at _all_?" he said dangerously.

No wonder she was in such bad shape...she had no chance to get any stress relief, and she was so overworked she couldn't take care of the pent up urges herself. Odds are she passed out once her head hit the pillow once she was done.

All that stress resulted in the current mess they were dealing with.

If Hayato was being this much of a problem, then it was pretty obvious he had never harmonized with her at all. Which begged the question if any of them had, if they let things get this bad.

Well...if Hayato didn't learn from this experience and tried to pull the same shit once everyone was back to functional then Reborn had _zero_ issue ending him. He did not put all that work into making Hikari the best damn boss out of a civilian background just for her idiot Right Hand to indirectly kill her through overwork.

(On a completely "unrelated" note, Fon had already proven his flames were compatible with Hikari's own, but he was too polite to try and take Hayato's spot as her Storm. However after this clusterfuck, there was a strong chance there would be an opening he could all but slip into with terrifying ease.)

* * *

It had been three weeks since the 'incident', and the one thing that stuck in the minds of everyone who knew most of the true story was that Hikari had gained a terrifying protector/assistant out of the deal.

Even _Mukuro_ was fucking terrified of "Yoru", and that was saying a lot about how much Hikari had been repressing for years now.

Facing Mukuro or Chrome in a bad mood was bad enough, as they had gotten very good at using their illusions to screw someone over without having to even touch them, but Yoru was on an entirely different level.

Yoru had a fascination with medieval torture, and the was able to _replicate_ the experience of being put through said torture without having to actually perform it.

Most terrifying of all was that no one would believe the 'Saint' of the underworld ot be capable of unleashing an alter ego capable of putting someone that made a blood eagle seem tame in comparison...and that was when she was _bored_.

Reborn was both pleased at the way Hikari had found a way to terrify even the most hardened mafioso into submission and teaching everyone around not to fuck with her...and distinctly unhappy at the fact she had only developed it because her Guardians were idiots and kept pressuring her until something snapped.

Reborn drew the line at the fact that even the Vongola's allies started to give Hikari wary looks, without being in close proximity to Yoru. All because one idiot made a few ill-spoken comments about the Decimo having a 'split personality' and that her other half was 'the unholy love child of the Varia and Daemon Spade'.

Reborn had killed him once he tracked down who said it, but the mafia was full of sharks and the comment was akin to blood in the water in the worst ways.

To make matters worse, the available dating pool that Hikari had to help sire the next generation of Vongola shrunk to nonexistent levels...and it was clear if she did go the 'virgin mother' route then the Alliance would never let her hear the end of it.

"God...why did I agree to be Decimo again?" she whined.

"Because the only other candidates were unqualified due to blood, or far too young."

Hikari blinked.

"And now?"

"Now it's more of a question of you still have two more years before any of them are remotely old enough to hold the Vongola together," replied Reborn.

Hikari's eyes gleamed as a wild, crazy idea took root.

"Tell me...are the idiot scientist trio still messing with Lambo's bazooka?"

Reborn eyed her warily.

"What are you planning?"

"Half of this mess started because Daemon refused to let anyone he deemed 'too soft' to take over the Vongola, and because the Ninth is a complete idiot. So if I were to pick a successor from the current candidate pool and toss them to Xanxus for training..."

"Then you could retire in peace. However you do realize that the underworld will never fully let you go."

"Not in this timeline, no...but what about the time before Luce tricked you into taking on the curse?"

Reborn's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Think about it. I am a horrible boss and there's still a chance I could screw things over the same way my 'future' self did with Byakuran. But there _is_ a precedent for the Primo's line to hand over the rings to their cousins and _walk away_ from it all...however with how prevelant technology is there's no feasible way for me to escape like he did, at least not in _this_ time anyway. Besides, the second I reach the past it will splinter off into a new timeline anyway regardless of what I do."

Reborn looked like he had a headache.

Sadly, the plan she was outlining also happened to be the best alternative they might have to this entire mess. Now that Hikari had an outlet for her pent up dark emotions, there was simply no way for Yoru to go back. And her 'Guardians' were already considerably more leery of her as a result, making it clear that any bonds they might have had were damaged or broken entirely.

Sending her to the past would allow her to heal, and give her a chance to actually flourish without the chains of being Decimo around her neck. The only reason she was chosen was because the Ninth refused to entertian the idea of someone who wasn't an immediate blood relative of the family as the next Decimo, since Xanxus was out because of his bloodline.

The only reason she hadn't 'screwed up' like her so-called future self had was because Reborn wouldn't allow it now that he knew it was a risk. Neither would Xanxus for that matter and any time it looked like she might slip, they came down on her hard.

The simple fact was that her collapse was merely a matter of time.


	121. Cloak and Dagger Chapter One

Coming to full alertness took a bit more time than usual, but when it did, the memories of the past day hit her like a brick.

A figure had appeared in her own personal hell, bearing a letter from Sirius from beyond the grave. The person, Viper, had been paid a very large sum of gold by her godfather to remove her from England and set her up with an entirely new identity in a different country that would rather snub the English wizards than return her so long as she made it clear she didn't want to go back.

She wasn't in England anymore. Viper had taken her on a red-eye flight that took off at four in the morning in order to be out of England as quickly as possible, and she had no idea where.

Hedwig was off hunting at the time, but she had no doubt her owl would find her soon enough.

"Mu. I see you're awake," said Viper. They were clutching their coffee like a life line.

"Where are we?"

"Sicily," said Viper.

She blinked.

"Isn't that in Italy?"

"Yes. Your godfather paid me to set you up someplace the wizards won't find you, and considering the fact I could sense you from half-way down the block, the best way to do that is to make you my temporary assistant until you learn how to operate on your own," said Viper bluntly.

"Temporary assistant?"

"I'm an underworld information broker. From what I read about you, you can talk to snakes, correct?"

"Yes...?"

"Would you be adverse to using them as informants?" he asked.

"Not particularly. I have no issue with snakes so long as I don't have to deal with the same bullshit I had to put up when I was twelve," she replied.

"Do you know how to speak Italian?"

"I would barely be able to muddle through a conversation in Latin," she answered. "And that's only because of the butchered version we use to cast spells with."

"Mu. Sit still. I'll implant the basic knowledge and we'll stick to using that language only until you become fluent in it," said Viper.

She stills.

"And what...exactly...would that entail?"

"I would use my flames to implant the knowledge and leave," said Viper.

"Just the language, right?"

Viper paused.

"You've had experience with someone who can enter minds before."

"A man who despised my father and made it abundantly clear everyone knew that fact was ordered to teach me how to make a shield within my mind to block out anyone trying to read from it. Instead he gave me all of thirty seconds after yelling to clear my mind with no instruction how to do so before forcibly entering it and ripping whatever information he wanted. And he would repeat that for an entire hour at least once a week before I snapped and broke into his mind, only to find out what a bastard my father was as a teenager," she replied bluntly.

Viper frowned.

"Which means you would be naturally leery of anyone who can do the same, if only to avoid similar treatment. What sort of idiot uses the brute force method when it's far more likely to _destroy_ any shields you have instead of building them? And even if it _did_ work, the shields would become more akin to an animal lashing out instead of a defensive application."

A quiet silence descended upon them.

"You do realize that your limited information on the magical communities and the area around Surrey is useless to me," commented Viper. "And I have no interest in your personal information, which means I have zero reason to rifle through your mind for painful details."

She paused. Viper had a point...they had nothing to gain from her limited information on the magical society and her personal life held no interest to them in the least when they were being paid to set her up in another country and leave.

She sat calmly in front of Viper, who sat across from her with a cup of tea in front of them.

"How are you going to enter my mind when we aren't making eye contact?"

Viper scoffed.

"Only magicals use such a bastardized method," said Viper.

And that was when she felt it. A slight pressure against her mind, only it was considerably more gentle than Snape had ever been.

 _'Whoever was in your mind before was an idiot. These shields wouldn't keep out a blind novice, much less a determined attack,'_ said Viper in disgust.

She gasped as she felt Viper do _something_ , and the ever present low-grade headache she always had after Snape started those damn lessons disappear completely. She also felt a slight pressure as something was left behind.

Viper left almost as quickly as they had broken through her mental defenses.

"Implanting languages is simple enough, but considering the level of damage done to your defenses I set it up so that it would unravel naturally while you're sleeping, when your mind is in a relaxed state. I also added a few 'packets' of information that would only open up if the correct trigger was presented that will otherwise remain dormant."

"Trigger?" she repeated.

"Words or images that trip the required amount of stimuli in order to open the information. Naturally it has a limited shelf life considering how quickly information can become outdated, but it would give you enough general knowledge to fool others if required which is enough," explained Viper. "Much like how certain sounds or scents can trigger a memory. That is the bare basics of the packets are."

Seeing her interest in the subject and how it made her relax subconciously, Viper went into detail what they actually knew of the subject beyond the practical application.

By the time lunch rolled around, her stomach made sounds of protest because she had been so fascinated with the discussion that she forgot to even eat breakfast.

She was already thin enough...she could ill-afford to miss a full meal.

* * *

Setting up the identity was both difficult and easy at the same time. Viper had the skills to fake an entire new identity, but it was the personality that was giving her a lot of trouble.

She wasn't an idiot, and she had more common sense than half the school put together and that was being generous.

If they were going to be looking for a thin girl of about sixteen with black hair, green eyes and a scar who wore glasses that was somewhat subdued and wore ill-fitting clothing and prefered the peace and quiet, then the best method to avoid detection was to be the exact opposite.

She had to admit, if she hadn't helped Viper craft the new appearance she never would have recognized herself in the mirror.

Her hair was now a shade of deep purple, and her eyes looked closer to amethysts instead of emeralds. The scar she hated so much was covered by a careful application of make-up, and to keep people from asking questions about how pale she was, she put on purple eye-shadow and lipstick.

Her old clothes were replaced with mostly leather, including no less than three full body suits.

Naturally she would need an explanation for her appearance, so the two of them thought it over until the idea of a stuntman that was hated by death was created.

Her new name was "Skull de Mort, the Immortal Stuntman".

Viper had been rather pleased learning she was a natural actress...a by product of living with the Dursleys for over a decade and having to learn how to hide her true thoughts from showing on her face. Couple with that with her lack of fear when faced with dangerous situations, her higher than normal pain tolerance, and the fact she _enjoyed_ doing insane stunts, and it had only taken Viper fifteen minutes to come up with 'stuntman' as her future career. That or tomb raider, which they had only thrown out as a joke, but she didn't have the background for it and the aim they were going for was 'hiding in plain sight', not 'avoidance through partial isolation'.

The problem was that "Skull" had a boisterous personality and she...didn't. She had spent years keeping a low profile in order to avoid attention being drawn to herself, as reminding her "family" that she existed always meant a beating.

In the end, Viper felt they had a good compromise. Skull was loud and a braggart, but he was disinclined to be around large crowds because it make escape difficult. If anyone questioned Skull's odd paranoia about having an escape route, they could honestly state that "Skull" had been locked in a closet for several hours when his family was out of the house and had developed a mild case of claustrophobia. The fact this fit in perfectly with a Cloud's preference of avoiding others and not joining up in groups readily made it easier to hide.

As far as anyone needed to know, Skull was an Inactive Cloud with a loud personality.

Considering the amount of near-death experiences, Viper was fairly certain the lighter flame that came out with the vibrant purple was in fact Sun. It would neatly explain the accelerated healing Skull had.

All too soon, the day Viper's official contract would end drew near.

Skull...wasn't looking forward to that. Viper was refreshingly blunt and their motivations for what they did were clear. When asked a question, the Mist was more inclined to give a straight answer instead of a convoluted one that didn't tell her anything. They openly approved of the fact that Skull took nothing they told her at face value and at least tried to look at all the angles.

Skull hated crowds, but the thought of being entirely alone by herself was even worse.

So you could imagine her relieved shock when Viper offered an alternative...mostly out of self-interest.

They would continue to live together, but they would have to be a bit more discreet if only because of Viper's job.

After all, at the moment Skull was still safe from the underworld and some people didn't exactly take to the criminal life style. Viper had no way to accurately predict how Skull would react to joining the mafia as a freelancer, especially considering the fact that the second any famiglia realized she was an unattached and powerful Cloud they would do everything in their power to recruit her.

Clouds were almost as rare as Skies, and having a full harmony was a _massive_ status boost for any famiglia. Especially if that harmony had strong Guardians. Just look at the Vongola!

Skull was considerably stronger than most, because her will to live was much higher than normal. Add in the fact she was a Cloud, and she was already highly valuable.

The irony was that any famiglia trying to forcibly recruit Skull would have a very difficult time of it. She was independently wealthy from an old and titled background, she had no family to speak of and the odds of someone figuring out her real name were next to nonexistent with how thorough Viper was. After all, they hadn't exactly entered Italy _legally_ , so there was next to nothing that could trace back her country of origin.

Any connections she had were already _well_ protected by the magical society, which the mafia had little to no clue about. Viper only knew because their power was often mistaken as actual magic, which meant they could freely enter magical alleys and could bypass their wards to keep away those without.

Viper mostly decided to keep Skull around because she respected their privacy, and was cheaper than hiring a house maid. Besides, the snakes that they sent out to investigate certain areas were already paying back _massive_ dividends from the fact that no one would suspect an animal native to the area to be a spy. Even if they had a witch or wizard under their employ, any scans would reveal a common snake.

No one would suspect Viper had a parselmouth working for them to translate what the snakes saw and heard. And they heard far more than the Mist ever could have anticipated.

In reality, Skull was a very low-maintenance roommate. Sure she had a number of psychological issues and Viper knew she had terrible nightmares, but compared to the idiots they had to deal with as clients she was considerably more tolerable being around long term.

Thankfully magic wasn't too dissimilar to Mist flames...Viper only had to walk Skull through the basics of teleporting using their Mist before she figured out how to replicate it with her magic. It was far more silent than apparition. So long as she had a clear image of where she wanted to go, she could visit almost anywhere she wanted with very little drawbacks.

Which meant she could be on a job working as a stuntman and still be home in time to make dinner. Even if that job was in another country entirely.

* * *

It had been almost a year since Viper saved her from a living hell, and Skull could honestly state that it was a turning point for her.

For one thing, being around someone like Viper on a constant basis had altered her mindset regarding magic. She had always been fairly open-minded about how to go about solving problems, but now she was swiftly realizing that wands were less a 'necessity' than the wizards would like to admit.

She found that she could do almost anything without an incantation or wand movement so long as she believed it was possible.

It the end it all boiled down to the surprisingly simple concept of "I believe I can, so I will. And if not then I'll figure out an alternative until it does."

It made her wonder if those five years at Hogwarts was worth all the headaches and heartache she put up with in the first place.

So you could imagine her confusion when a man who reeked of old magicks and wearing an obvious disguise approached her with an offer to become part of the 'strongest seven'.

Particularly when she found out _Viper_ had been recruited as well.

A cold chill went down her back when Viper noticed her. After living together for the better part of a year, the Mist could speak with her telepathically in small doses.

 _'What are you doing here?'_ asked Viper.

 _'Some man in an odd mask asked me if I wanted to be part of the strongest seven. I mostly came to find out what he meant by that, but now I think I should have stayed home.'_

 _'Everyone here except for the soldier is part of the underworld. Be leery of Renato, the one with the hat. He's a known flirt and an asshole...if he finds out your gender he might attempt to seduce you,'_ warned Viper.

 _'Please, he is little more than a more successful Malfoy with actual skills. His good looks count for nothing...and did that asshole just dismiss me during my introduction? What the hell?'_ said Skull in outrage.

 _'You are a civilian. They think you are completely clueless about the underworld and will only hold us back,'_ said Viper.

 _'I_ really _don't like the way Luce is looking at me. Something about her seems absolutely fake.'_


	122. Scales of Fate Chapter One

As medical science progressed, so too did the possibilities. Case in point, it had become increasingly possible to have children without having to sleep with anyone. Originally the technology and knowledge was hit or miss, but a scant handful of decades after the curse, and it was now common practice for those who had issues getting pregnant the traditional way.

It opened up options that would have remained out of reach of the Arcobaleno due to their curse. Not only had their bodies shrunk to that of a child, but their reproductive abilities had been more or less whitewashed.

Shortly after receiving news that his younger sister would be having her first child with her husband, thus securing the alliance between the Chinese Triads and the Japanese Yakuza clans, Fon's mind turned to his own predicament.

He had always thought he would pass on his bloodline to a woman his clan had selected to secure an alliance or if he was extraordinary lucky, fall in love.

Instead the curse took all that away, leaving him the unspoken black sheep of the family, regardless of his abilities or skills. It was no small thing to say that Fon hated Checkerface and by extension Luce, for taking that opportunity away from him.

So when Verde brought the subject up of using in-vitro fertilization...which meant he wouldn't have to subject himself to the interest of some pervert _just_ to carry on his bloodline...Fon showed open interest in the idea.

There was just one problem...it was hard to get the necessary 'material' to see if the option was even viable.

Which was why Fon was a little disconcerted about why he woke up shortly after agreeing to act as one of Verde's test subjects for the procedure...and feeling a numbing sensation in his lower regions.

He looked at the scientist incredulous.

"Did you drug me?" he asked.

"It was the only sure way to secure the necessary material. I've already done this to Skull and there was no ill side effects from this method."

"Then why am I having trouble sitting?"

"The anesthetic will wear off in a few hours. Besides, if you knew exactly how I planned to acquire the seed you might have backed out at the last second," said Verde with a sniff.

Fon went to use the restroom, and found a small puncture in a place where there shouldn't be. He glared at Verde when he left the room.

"You stuck a needle in me?"

"Specifically in the area of your balls," agreed Verde. "Again, I tested this out on Skull earlier and he recovered in a day or two. Besides, I used a much smaller needle compared to the one I used on him."

Fon looked miffed, but the damage was done.

The vial containing the material sat on Verde's desk, clearly labeled.

"I wonder how Reborn and the others will take it."

"Colonello and Reborn have already declined to test the procedure at this time. As for Viper, they were asexual to begin with and their job isn't exactly _conductive_ for child-rearing," said Verde promptly. Fon noticed a third vial with Verde's own name on it.

"How are you going to test the...material?"

"I'm not. I have no experience on how to use the correct equipment and I doubt any of us want to go through the extraction process _twice_ ," said Verde. "Fortunately there is a small clinic in London that has already agreed to do some 'off-the-books' testing in exchange for better funding. Considering the other services they offer, they've been having trouble keeping clients due to idiots protesting."

The 'other services' being abortion. To be fair, they only offered it in the period _before_ the infant has an actual heart beat, since by that time the child would have formed into a mostly human shape. If the mother still wanted to be rid of the child, they would heavily recommend their 'in-house' adoption using slightly less than legal loopholes.

Which was part of the reason why Verde knew of them...they often helped prostitutes who had slipped up and gotten pregnant to 'sell' their children overseas to foreign couples who wanted children. It was a shady business and a legal grey area because the clinic made very, very sure that the mothers signed away all legal rights to the child and made it clear that they were giving the children away to a hopefully better future...the clinic made _very_ sure to do thorough background checks first.

Verde had the samples at the clinic by Monday, leaving a curious Fon to wait out the results.

By Friday, they had the results...there was just one tiny problem.

"What in blazes is this?" demanded Verde irate.

"What's wrong?" asked Fon.

"What's wrong is that the blood type on this file is wrong. You're an A negative, whereas this sample is clearly AB positive," said Verde flatly.

He skimmed the paperwork, before swearing again.

"I take it something went wrong?" asked Fon.

Verde started making some calls...despite hearing only half the actual conversation, what Fon did catch quickly became rather worrying.

His usual serene smile was put through quite the test, particularly once he started to understand the gravity of the situation.

"The samples were mixed up?" said Fon.

"According to the on-site doctor, one of the new hires got the label wrong for the testing. _Your_ sample went to a couple attempting to get pregnant for the first time...there was something wrong with the man's seed according to this test, which explains their trouble with conception... and his sample was taken for the test I ordered."

Now Fon was well and truly alarmed. He had mostly humored Verde to see if it was even _viable_ to use that method in order to have an heir to pass his knowledge to. He hadn't actually planned on his seed getting a woman _pregnant_.

Needless to say Fon stuck around, mostly out of concern that something _had_ happened due to the accidental switch.

The second they found out that the sample _had_ taken and the woman was now pregnant (Verde may or may not have blackmailed/bribed for the name of the couple who were subject to the mix-up) Fon started looking into who they were.

And come up with nothing. Or on the surface it looked like nothing.

It didn't take much for Fon to line up some very...specific... markers (mostly thanks to the wife, or it would have taken much longer to figure out) to realize there was a strong chance the woman was a natural born magical with enough power to attend the so-called "prestigious school" in Scotland. Her husband had such limited information available to him that it made Fon suspect he was a member of the "pure blood" class.

A group of people who had developed a rather worrying tendency of inbreeding with their cousins to keep the line 'pure', thinking it would help their magics. However the available gene pool had been shrinking to alarming levels, especially in the past decade or so.

It would certainly explain why the man had issues getting his wife pregnant. Inbreeding had all sorts of hidden dangers...like lower fertility rates.

* * *

 _Nine months later..._

Lily might have been exhausted from giving birth to their daughter, but James was clear headed despite the pain killer potion he took for his poor abused hand.

Which was why he took the words of the odd 'toddler' (any magic user could feel the curse around that pacifier) with a grain of salt.

You could imagine his shock and dismay learning the cursed Chinese gentleman was telling the truth.

His daughter...wasn't his.

James sat down hard.

"How did this happen?"

"One of the lab specialists got our samples mixed up. My friend who sent them in noticed right away something was wrong because the blood types didn't match. I would have contacted you sooner, but I was unsure if you would be willing to believe a letter from a complete stranger considering the civil war your community is in...that and your wards prevented me from locating you," said Fon calmly.

James conceded his point. He likely would have tossed the letter out of hand considering the circumstances.

"Oh gods, how am I going to explain this to Lily?"

"Tell her the truth. That the other person involved in this rather unusual 'accident' tracked you down to make sure that the child would be wanted regardless of the origin. I assure you, if neither of you wish to have anything to do with the child because of the fact that she is not of your bloodline, it would be of no trouble for me to take them away and keep the scandal from blowing up in your face. I'm aware how much stock your culture puts in bloodlines," said Fon bluntly.

If the husband didn't want to raise another man's child, regardless of the fact his wife hadn't actually cheated on him, then Fon had no issues with taking the child away and raising them himself.

Or to be more specific, he would introduce the child to his younger sister and hide the child away while teaching them on the sly since he didn't want to deal with the Triads attempting to use them as leverage. They deserved to grow up without that over their head.

"I'm not giving up my daughter just because of a clerical error," snapped James. "We _do_ have options for accidents like this, though usually it's a case of 'the favored daughter got knocked up by the wrong person and we want to cover it up immediately' type of deal."

James might be the head of the Potter family, but his mother was a Black. Blood magic was their bread and butter, and it used to be a fashion to adopt skilled or brilliant muggleborns into pure blood families (or deliberately marry them in) before the whole 'pure' nonsense took hold.

* * *

Fon was concerned. It had been three days since the agreed check-in had passed and still he had no word from either Lily, James _or_ Sirius.

On the fourth day, he went directly to England's magical bank to ask questions.

Considering they were in the middle of a civil war, the Potters had agreed a scheduled check-in with specific words or phrases to be used at random (and never in the same order) was an acceptable compromise. If they failed to make it or send Sirius to do it for them, then Fon would know something had happened and would come looking for Persephone.

(He thought that was a terrible name to inflict on a child, but they had named her before he had a chance to explain to the couple what happened.)

What he heard made him very unhappy.

The Potters were dead, Sirius was falsely imprisoned, and according to the inept Sky Latent Albus Dumbledore, the child was 'safe' with her family.

A check with Andromeda proved she did not have the girl, and any other family would have been crowing by this point considering some idiot had labeled _his_ daughter the "girl-who-lived".

Fon paid the goblins to draw up official adoption papers for both the magical and mundane worlds. Mostly as a formality, as the Lily had given him the most recent copy of their will after they had Persephone stating in no uncertain terms that if the people listed on the document were unable or unwilling to take their child in, then the "Arcobaleno known as Fon" was to have complete custody over their child.

It was a good thing he was a squib, otherwise this would have been much more difficult.

Once he went down the list and found that none of those charged with taking care of Persephone had her (Andromeda was more than willing to check for him), there was only one option left, as Dumbledore was adamant that the 'savior' was with "family".

Fon had never had the displeasure of meeting Petunia Dursley, who happened to be Lily's older sister. And he rather wished he could have remained happily ignorant of the woman's existence.

All he knew was that the woman was entirely too happy to hand over her niece and sign the papers to a complete stranger.

Apparently, the old fool had left his daughter on her doorstep like a bottle of milk without even bothering to ask Petunia or her husband if they even _wanted_ to raise the child. The horse-faced shrew was rather relieved someone else was willing to remove the 'freakishness' from her _perfectly normal home._

If Fon didn't know the Vindice would have been on his ass in a heartbeat, he would have strangled the woman. She _literally_ took his daughter out of the broom cupboard and it was clear that only the barest minimum of care had been provided.

As it was, he was beyond happy to leave that depressing suburban hell and never look back. The goblins verified the blood relation and made his custody of his child absolute.

* * *

 _Several hours later, in Japan..._

Mei Ying Hibari took one look at her niece and squealed, before promptly claiming her from her brother.

"Who's this little cutie?"

"Your niece. Do you recall the 'accident' I mentioned in our last visit?"

"The one with the clerical error and you somehow getting a woman pregnant? I take it this is the little one?" said Mei Ying.

"I was hoping you would be willing to take her in," said Fon. "I'm only five years away from completing my contract with the Triads, but until then she is vulnerable and I refuse to let them use her as leverage over me. No child deserves to have that."

Mei Ying took one look at the girl's jade green eyes and raven locks...and fell in love.

"I'm sure Kyouya wouldn't mind a little sister."

Fon's relief was obvious. Particularly when his rather grumpy nephew showed an actual interest in his new little sister after the girl managed to make the bird plushies that he favored float in the air. It was fairly clear that his daughter had at least inherited the magical blood in the family.

(Though to the shock of both the siblings, it only took a few hours for _Kyouya_ to start displaying signs of magic, likely so he wouldn't be outdone by his new imouto.)

Since there was no way Fon was going to make his daughter suffer through a name like Persephone, especially since he was discreetly hiding her with his sister, they changed the girl's name to "Sakura" instead.

The newly named Hibari Sakura giggled happily as she played with her new big brother. Fon was rather pleased when he caught the distinct protective gaze in Kyouya's eyes. Or at least a rather possessive one.

(Years later Fon almost _pitied_ anyone stupid enough to attempt dating his daughter. Forget having to deal with the fear of a 'killer baby' after their ass...it took balls of steel to get past _Kyouya_ who was beyond protective of his slightly younger sibling and made sure everyone knew it.)


End file.
